


Broken Messiah

by Gmni76



Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Corruption, F/F, G!P Grace Harper, Life in the Apocalypse, Porn With Plot, Slow Burn, Triggers, Violence, War, like seriously slow until it isn't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:08:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 64,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24872809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gmni76/pseuds/Gmni76
Summary: Due to a completely preventable nervous breakdown, this disappeared last night.  I'm putting it back up because I can't force myself to stop for more than a fucking minute.
Relationships: Grace Harper/Dani Ramos
Comments: 36
Kudos: 64





	1. Alone

Dani Ramos was trying to live her best life after the events in 2022. Every day, though she was haunted by the three days spent with Sarah Connor, Grace Harper, and Carl. She was reminded every single day of the loss of her family. She was alone in Mexico City when the power went out on July 23, 2023. Sarah had some errand to run that took her down to the Yucatan Peninsula for a few weeks. Sarah should have been back by now. Grace had warned them that this would happen right around the 20th or so. Grace was little and couldn’t accurately remember the exact time. Dani waited in their shared apartment, hoping Sarah would come back and save her. 

After the first day without running water or electricity, Dani gathered what supplies she had on hand. That was something Sarah had taught her. 

“The first thing, kid, is always have enough supplies to last you for a week.” Sarah said in earnest as they would sit in the storage room, doing inventory. The storage room was no more than a guest bedroom in the apartment. Sarah had made sure they had plenty of non-perishable items and bottled water. The apartment wasn’t exactly secure, but it wasn’t on the ground level. The balcony looked out over the city in sort of a panoramic view. The third floor was a good option at the time because of the extra space. Sarah had installed multiple locks on the doors and bars on the windows for protection. She always told Dani that one could never be too safe. 

The first night was insanely dark, and equally loud. The sounds of people screaming at each other, the occasional gunfire, and one explosion that rocked the entire city block beneath Dani’s feet were enough to make her want to run. Staying in the city was probably not a great idea, but as long as they had food and water, guns and ammo, Dani felt compelled to stick around. There was no way to really know if this particular blackout was the work of Legion. Dani had been through power outages before. It was just something you waited out. 

She sat on her bed, tuning the little black emergency radio Sarah had given her for Christmas. It was hot that night, sweltering really. She wore a pair of camouflage cargo shorts and a white camisole. Her hair was pinned tightly up on her head, but she was sweating despite all of it. She really wished for the air conditioning. She sipped water from a plastic bottle, listening to her neighbors argue for the 15th straight time this month. The children next door cried. They always cried. It broke Dani’s heart to think of what might be going on over there. The silver 9mm sat next to her on the bed. Dani had an AR-15 loaded and waiting by the front door, along with a baseball bat. In the darkness, Dani tried to get a radio signal to gather as much information as she could. 

She tuned into the first station, 92.5. It was a golden oldies station that played what reminded Dani of elevator music. It wasn’t exactly off the air, but the signal sounded scrambled. The voices coming through were garbled. The interference was a mechanical whine. She tuned up to 93.3, her favorite rock and roll station. It was the same thing. The station was on the air, but nothing intelligible was coming through. It was the same mechanical whine. Dani scanned through several more stations to the same effect. She wound the dynamo generator back up through the simple hand crank on the side of the radio and switched over to the AM frequencies. There was nothing there but the whine. It sounded like noises from outer space. Every channel was the same, as if something were blocking the signals. 

Dani switched to the short-wave frequencies next. By this time, she thought maybe the damned radio was broken. No clear signals were coming through on any channel. She shut the radio off and moved to the window. The 9mm was stuffed safely in the back of her shorts. She didn’t go anywhere without it these days. Sarah had made her practice with it, carry it, and even sleep with it. Dani always had at least a pistol in her immediate possession. With Sarah gone, Dani felt the need to carry it with her always. 

The night air didn’t even feel good on her damp skin. It was just hot. July was a dirty motherfucker down in Mexico, especially if there was no air conditioning. The lack of electricity tonight was causing serious problems in the neighborhood. It wasn’t even that the power was out. Dani watched the street below, taking notice that the line of vehicles piled up on the street were not moving at all. She thought it was ridiculous that anyone would wait for a traffic light to come back on. But the cars and trucks seemed to be suffering the same fate as the power grid. A group of men were yelling in Spanish about the cars being dead. They wouldn’t even turn over. There was absolutely no power. 

That was the moment Dani Ramos realized that the rest of her life was completely fucked. The day she had feared for more than a year had finally arrived. She really wished Grace had been wrong, or that the blonde’s death had changed the future. She paced the floor in her bedroom, feeling the rough, gray carpet rake against the soles of her bare feet. 

The night wore on, and Dani did not rest. She prayed, vocally, for Sarah to return soon. She prayed for the truth to be a lie. She’d give anything she had for the power to magically come back on. The darkness was unreal. She’d never seen Mexico City so dark. She could faintly make out the outlines of buildings in the distance. She saw candle lights in neighboring windows. Dani pulled the shades across all of the apartment windows and lit her camp lantern. She tried to distract herself with a book, but the noises coming from outside were spooky. She was used to the constant traffic, car horns, yelling, and summer construction. Tonight, however, it was just yelling interspersed with silence. 

In the morning, Dani tried the radio again. This time, there was just nothing. There wasn’t even static. The airwaves were dead. Every. Single. Station. Dead. Dani felt terror creeping up through her body, starting in her gut. She swallowed the urge to panic, telling herself that Sarah would find a way home. 

The flash of light in the distance was blinding, even though Dani wasn’t looking out the window. The light was everywhere for a moment, just a millisecond. The shockwave the followed twenty seconds later broke out windows and shook the very foundations of the city. Dani knew exactly what was happening. Humans were attacking Legion. The bombs were dropping. She knew, deep in the darkest part of her heart, that Legion was going to win this battle. 

Dani grabbed her bug-out bag from the storage room. The bag contained a change of clothes, some food, water, ammunition for her rifle and pistol, a jacket, a map, some small hand tools, a flashlight, a lighter, matches, extra shoes, a tarp, and some paracord. Dani changed her clothes, donning a pair of cargo pants, a t-shirt, her boots, and a baseball cap. She cut the excess length of her hair, which now fell to the middle of her back. She braided what remained tightly and stuffed it all under the cap. 

Dani knew where she was going, and she knew she had to get out of the city. According to Grace, by this time tomorrow, the whole world would be at war. The major cities would be under attack by machines built for cyberwarfare. The attacks would be relentless, destroying civilization in a matter of hours. 

She picked up the AR-15 from beside the front door and went next door to check on her neighbors. She had never met them. She only knew the sound of their angry voices. The man who appeared behind the door looked to be in his late 20s, not much older than Dani herself. He did not seem happy to see her. The smell of methamphetamine was thick in the air, wafting out into the hallway. The man's face was thin and scabby from where he’d picked it non-stop. The sound of crying children from somewhere in the apartment was too much for Dani to bear. She couldn’t stand to be there any longer. She told the man that her apartment was open, to take whatever food and supplies he needed for his family. She urged him to leave the city. He shut the door in her face without a single word. 

The trek out of the city was easier than Dani had practiced with Sarah. Perhaps it was the lack of traffic. The streets were open now for pedestrians and bicycles. The looting had already begun. Dani tried to stay out of the commercial areas. The last thing she needed was to get shot. She passed a department store where people were coming out with carts full of supplies. What really struck Dani was that most people were not getting food or water. They were taking televisions, stereos, computer equipment. All the things that had proved to be the downfall of civilization were the most prized in its aftermath. How stupid, Dani thought. But then, how could anyone have known?


	2. Scavenger

The sky glowed day and night now. The bombs that fell across North America lit up the sky 24 hours a day. Every weapon in the human arsenal had been deployed. Dani watched from borrow ditches and from behind tree lines as military convoys moved in every direction. She thought about enlisting and running with the Mexican army, but everything was so chaotic. Dani followed a group of people who were moving in the same direction. They carried everything they owned on their backs. Everyone, now, was a refugee, seeking safety from the war with machines. Dani tried to talk to several people to exchange information, but no one had answers. Dani seemed to know the most, and people began to flock to her for that information. 

It took Dani a full day to escape the city. The entire area was so densely populated that she never felt like she was making any progress. She saw a sign indicating that she was on the road to Villa del Carbon some fifty miles to the north. The group of people began following her and was growing larger with every populated place they passed. She heard the whispers about her being the one who knew what happened. People were suggesting and assuming she knew what to do. Dani didn’t have the slightest idea what to do with a group of people. She was barely managing herself at the moment. 

The fourth day after the power went out, Dani camped at a roadside rest stop. She wished she had a tent, but at least, she thought, it wasn’t raining. She spread the blue tarp out on the ground and took an inventory of what she had left. She still had plenty of food, but would need water right away. Her canteen was almost empty. She tried to keep herself away from the rest of the group, who seemed to mimic her every move. Wherever she turned, they would turn. Whenever she would stop and rest, so would they. She sat up on a small hill, away from everyone and counted heads. There were at least 20 people below, waiting for Dani to deliver them to something good, something different. 

She went down to the rest stop to check the water situation. Nothing was running. She checked the back of each toilet for clean water. She found enough to fill her canteen halfway. Suddenly, she was being swamped by people, wondering what she was doing. They all fell in line, looking for the same water supply. Desperation would make people do fucked up things. Dani remembered Sarah saying the same thing. If these people were hungry or thirsty, they might turn on her and kill her for whatever she had. Dani felt herself being pushed out of the way as men and women gathered into the stalls, hoping for something to drink. She put her hand behind her, clutching the grip of her pistol, scanning for a safe exit. More and more people crowded in. Someone looked at her canteen and licked his lips. 

Fuck, Dani thought. She handed it over and pushed through the crowd to get out of there. They had forgotten her to get to the person who took her canteen. Once outside, Dani suddenly remembered that she had left all her supplies on the hill, completely unattended. When she returned to her makeshift camp, everything was gone except the tarp. Someone had taken her rifle too. Dani Ramos realized what the near future held for her, and it was going to be ugly. Instead of waiting around for someone else to come and ransack her body for whatever was left, Dani took off. Her faith in humans was already being destroyed. People would just take and take until there was nothing left to give. 

Dani had nothing with her now except the tarp and her handgun. She rolled it up and carried it under her arm. She held the pistol, cocked and ready, in her other hand. Dani had nothing left but the clothes on her back. She didn’t even have the map anymore. Those supplies would have easily lasted her until Villa del Carbon, where she could hopefully resupply. Now she just had to hope for the best. 

The crowd seemed to have lost interest in her since they had taken everything. She tried to let go of the anger she felt by understanding that there were small children in that group. They probably needed the supplies more than she did. She pulled her cap down tight and kept walking north. She stayed off the road, carefully watching for others. The night did not get much darker than it was at sunset. The sky shimmered and glowed red and green. The most concentrated lights were over metropolitan areas, Dani knew. Those were the areas to avoid. She didn’t know much about radiation. Sarah had tried to get her to learn how to use a Gieger counter, but Dani just didn’t get it. 

She found a wooded area far away from the main road. She had to stop for the night. Her feet were killing her. She was hungry and thirsty. She was exhausted. Sarah had never made her walk this far before. Dani knew though, that this would be par for the course as she made her way north. It would be the longest walk of her life. Dani spread the tarp out on the ground under a tree and sat down. She leaned back against the hard wood, feeling the bark dig into her skin beneath the thin t-shirt. She felt exposed and vulnerable. She wished they had at least left her jacket. Dani leaned back and listened to the surrounding area. She couldn’t hear voices or footsteps. She didn’t hear any animals or running water. It was just dead silence and the ringing in her ears. She closed her eyes and pulled her cap down over her forehead. Dani remembered the night at the dam, pulling Grace’s power source out of her failing body. She recalled how warm Grace was inside. The memory of that heat made her shiver. Dani unfolded the tarp and wrapped it around her, though it helped only a little. 

She woke up just before dawn to a sound that shook her to the core. Something was in the air. She remembered Grace telling her how planes just fell out of the sky when the power went out. Dani had not heard anything in the air in four days. This was different than a plane though. It wasn’t a helicopter either. The sound was the same as she heard across the radio frequencies. That mechanical whine, that hum. It grew louder and closer. Dani pulled her knees to her chest, terrified to move at all. She made out the outline of a black aircraft moving overhead, from north to south. The spotlights on the bottom or the craft were scanning back and forth, looking for something. She couldn’t tell if it was a manmade aircraft or something more sinister. Dani tried to make herself small and invisible, waiting for the hunter to pass her by. 

As it flew over her, seemingly not seeing her, she listened. The distant cries and screams of people filled her ears. The gunfire was rapid and louder than she thought possible. Whatever was flying the aircraft was hunting people, killing them. A hunter/killer. That’s how Dani identified the craft. Next time she saw one, she’d know it wasn’t friendly. 

When the sun was up, Dani went back to where the group of people had been. She didn’t want to see what was left, knowing it was probably gory carnage. But she needed supplies. It was already hot, and Dani knew she could not afford to sweat much without replenishing herself. She needed water more than anything else. She hiked back nearly two miles to where the group of survivors had been. Bodies lined the highway. They looked like they had just been shot down as they scattered. Their belongings littered the area. Dani began to go through what she could very quickly. She didn’t want to risk being set upon by another group right now. She found her backpack, filled with someone else’s belongings. She pulled out the clothes and a child’s toy, leaving them where they fell. She carefully shuffled around, looking for her rifle and her jacket. Her ammunition was strewn everywhere. She picked up bullets as she found them, an MRE, a couple of protein bars. Her canteen was nowhere to be found. 

Dani did find her jacket and the flashlight and the map. Carefully, quickly, she packed everything back up. She found more ammunition but no rifle. She swore she heard the hunter/killer machine in the distance and decided not to stick around and find out what it was. She ran back into the trees and tried not to be seen. She had no idea that most of her life now would be spent running and hiding from machines bent on extermination. 

Her only thought now was finding water and finding Grace. But that was still a few years away, according to what the augmented soldier had told her. Dani had no choice now but to survive the fallout of Judgement Day.


	3. War Paint

It took Dani nearly two more days to reach Villa del Carbon. The city was a once bustling center for commerce and human activity. Dani had been there several times during her life. It wasn’t a very big city, like Mexico City. There were only about 40,000 people there at any given time. Now, it was like a ghost town. As the bombs fell across the Mexican landscape, people just ran. She was sure that there might be some people holed up in their homes. That did not make the city any safer. 

Dani just needed water, badly. She was dehydrated. She had never gone that long without a drink before. Her mouth was dry, her tongue felt swollen. She bit it several times on accident as she walked. Her thirst was terrible but served as a reminder to keep going. She had stopped sweating the night before, which was not a good sign. Her headache was only getting worse. Every step she took pounded out her desperation for water. Her skin was hot and dry and her stomach was cramping hard. If it had rained at all, she would have drank from a dirty puddle. 

The first building she came to on the south end of town was a gas station. She wasn’t going to leave her supplies unguarded this time. Instead, she waited and watched, in the shade of a tree. The gas station looked deserted, but she couldn’t be sure. The front windows were broken out. The door was hanging open. Two abandoned cars sat at the gas pumps, like they were waiting for their owners to return and head them to the supermarket. Dani waited for nearly a half hour, but saw no one. Her thirst was driving her mad. She forced herself to take the steps forward and find something to drink. 

The inside of the gas station was dark. Looters had done a good job of taking everything valuable, including the money from the cash register. The body of the clerk was laying behind the front counter, slumped over. The boy couldn’t have been older than 20 years. The bullet hole in his forehead prevented him from seeing another year. Dani took in the sight, breathing hard. She looked under the counter for anything at all to drink. The coolers were empty. There was no beer, no water, no soda, nothing. She checked the bathroom but the door was locked. She kicked it a few times, but she was so weak, it did no good. The supply closet had a big slop sink with an attached hose. She turned the faucet on but nothing happened. She tipped the hose up to try and catch whatever remained inside. A few drops of dirty, rubber flavored water hit her tongue. She gasped and drank them down, but it wasn’t enough by far. She sucked on the hose, praying for another precious drop. There was a hot water heater in the corner of the closet. 

Dani dropped down in front of it and turned the relief valve at the bottom of the tank. Water began to flow freely from it. She dropped down on her belly and put her mouth directly on the valve and drank. And she drank. The water was cold and tasted better than anything she’d ever had. She didn’t adjust the flow right away. Dani just let the water run all over her face. She choked and swallowed and filled her belly with the life-giving fluid. She felt herself sob at the sweet relief. It could not have come a moment too soon. When she’d had enough, she shut the valve off and rolled onto her back. She laid in a puddle of cool water, feeling her body finally start to normalize. Her mind began to right itself. She felt her kidneys ache a little. 

Sarah Connor had schooled her on emergency water supplies that most people never thought of. The water heater in a house could hold up to 60 gallons of water. Dani didn’t know the difference between an industrial water heater and a residential one, but she knew there was more water still inside of this one. She had to find a canteen. 

Dani heard the shuffling footsteps out in the front of the convenience store while she was still laying in the supply closet. Had she been followed? Was it an animal? A machine? Terror struck her heart like a hammer, and Dani felt the reverberation down into her toes. Her pack lay on the floor beside the slop sink. She had the pistol in the front of her pants. She pulled it out and chambered a round quietly. Forcing herself up off the floor without making any noise, Dani crouched and moved to the door. She peeped around the edge and saw a man searching through the garbage on the floor. She leaned back against the wall, out of sight. She could just wait him out, as long as he wasn’t looking for anything in that supply room. 

She heard him coming closer. He was whispering to himself in Spanish, but Dani could not quite hear what he was saying. She did hear the word food and the words bastards and cigarettes. The guy was just looking for anything he could get, just like Dani. She could present herself as a harmless survivor, needing help too. She knew the importance of forming alliances, but it was so hard to know the good from the selfish anymore. She found that out the hard way. Instead she just waited, crouched in the supply closet, the 9mm on her thigh. She closed her eyes and just hoped he would leave. 

The big, hard hand came out of nowhere, grabbing her by the t-shirt and hauling her up to her feet. The man had reached around the door and pulled her out. She was small anyway, so it probably wasn’t hard for him. She pointed the gun in his face with a shaky hand, and he swatted it away effortlessly. Dani had never shot anyone in her life. He asked her, shaking her roughly, where the food and water all went. She tried to tell him she didn’t work there, but he wasn’t listening. He punched her in the face, letting her fall back to the floor. Dani suddenly remembered her training with Sarah. She backed up a bit, scooting on her ass to get her back against the wall. He was on her again in no time. She hadn’t been prepared for him to be so fast, but Dani brought a booted foot up and caught him straight in the groin. He fell back, clutching himself and groaning in pain. 

Dani didn’t wait. 

She jumped to her feet and took the man down with a knee in his stomach. As soon as he was on the ground, she kicked him in the mouth, hard. And again. And again. She kicked him until he stopped moving. She remembered Sarah’s words: “kill or be killed.” The blood flowed from his lips and nose, pooling on the floor by his head. He was unconscious, but could have been dead. Dani knew the best way to take someone down was to do it without firing a weapon. Drawing attention to yourself would get you killed. She inspected the man for weapons. All he had was a knife in his belt. Dani took it and shoved it down into her boot. 

Dani quickly looked over the convenience store for something to carry water in. She found an empty pop bottle and filled it. She drank it down and filled it again, drinking half of it before filling it the rest of the way. She got her pack from the supply closet and left before the man could wake up. She stepped over him and she felt herself falling. He had reached out and grabbed her by the ankle. 

“Estupida perra!” he hissed. He spit blood as he crawled toward her. His bloody grin was missing all of his front teeth. Dani could see them scattered below him as he came for her. She had kicked his teeth out. She pushed herself away from him, kicking desperately, but he was on top of her before she could get away. A big hand was around her throat, choking her, holding her down. She beat him with ineffective fists. She’d dropped her gun, but saw that he was now holding it. He pulled the hammer back and pressed the barrel to her forehead. She felt blood and spit dropping from his mouth and nose. She tasted it in her mouth. He muttered more obscenities at her as her tried so hard not to panic. If she did anything to try and escape, he’d shoot her. In a fraction of a second, Dani brought her right foot up and pulled his knife from her boot. She slipped her hand up and drove the blade through his throat with all her might, burying it to the hilt. The surprise in his eyes was almost comical. He had not seen that coming. Blood flowed freely from his mouth, all over Dani’s face and neck. When he finally stopped jerking and choking, she pushed him off. Dani withdrew the knife from his flesh, and stood over him. She shook and cried. Dani had never killed anyone before. 

She looked at his lifeless corpse. The man had just been looking for water and supplies. She was no different. He would have killed her for the water. Things were already out of hand. People had gone into full-blown survival mode. People would have been hoarding the supplies, protecting them with their lives. They’d have been killing each other over it. Dani just thought she’d have more time to prepare for this. Grace told her that when the bombs dropped, millions died. As the food ran out, billions died. Certainly, Dani thought, it could not already be happening. 

The bloody knife in her hand told her otherwise. She bent and wiped the blade across the back of his shirt and slipped it back into her boot. She picked up the 9mm where it had fallen, put the safety on and stowed it back in her waistband. She went back to the supply closet to wash her face. The front of her shirt was covered in his blood. Maybe it would be a warning to others not to mess with her. It was a sign of her first kill, though she was not proud of it. Dani felt both stronger and weaker simultaneously. She had killed another human being, albeit out of necessity. According to Grace’s prophecy, Dani was to be the one to unite the human race. She was not off to a very good start. She steeled herself against the knowledge that she had taken a life, grabbed her pack and headed out again. 

Dani stayed off the main street this time. This was a lesson she was constantly learning every day. Now that her thirst had been slaked for the time being, Dani needed to find some shelter. She needed to rest. She found herself bothered more by the fact that she wasn’t entirely bothered by killing that man. She always wondered if she had it in her to do it, and now Dani Ramos had her answer.


	4. Master of the Universe

Grace Harper was 10 years old when everything stopped. She was on a family trip with her parents and brother when it all happened. Everything literally stopped. They were at the border of the United States and Mexico, just outside of Laredo, Texas. They had traveled south to Monterrey for the week, using up her dad’s vacation time. They were driving back home when it all started, or ended rather. 

The car was hot. They were sitting in the midday sun in July. Grace’s parents were outside of the car, talking to other people, looking at a map. She was not sure what they were talking about. Grown up conversations were something she was never privy to. Instead, Grace let herself out of the back seat to see what she could see. Standing beside their car, she looked behind them at the line of cars. It went on forever. She heard her mother tell her to stay close. 

Grace heard the whine of the failing engine before she saw it. She didn’t know what it was either. She just turned her head in the direction of the sound. Sweat began to fall down her forehead and into her eyes as she watched the commercial airplane fall out of the sky. It was so close, she thought it was going to land on her. She shrieked loudly and her mother reached out and pulled her close. The plane crashed and exploded right beside the highway. Her father grabbed them both and stuffed them back into the car. He jumped in the driver’s seat and tried with all his will to start the car again. It wouldn’t even turn over. It didn’t even choke and sputter. The car was dead. 

She listened to her parents argue in the front seat, as she looked out the window. She watched other parents yelling and crying, pointing to the airplane. No one knew what to do. No one could go anywhere. Grace heard someone on a loudspeaker telling them to leave the area for the time being. She saw the men in uniforms walking up and down the spaces between the cars. They all had rifles that she could not identify. They were black, like the ones soldiers on tv carried. The big camouflage vehicles began driving up and down the side of the roads. Grace wondered how they had power, but her dad’s car didn’t. Nothing was making sense. Her brother cried about being hungry. Grace was hungry too. She was hot and thirsty also, and had to pee badly. Her dad yelled at her and told her to just hold it. 

Grace cried quietly in the back seat. She’d never been scared of anything before. Now, she was scared of the world. And she was scared of her dad now too. She pulled at the pony tails her mother had put into her hair. She just wanted to go home. 

The day dragged on for an unreal amount of time in Grace’s mind. They had walked and walked forever. Her feet were aching. She was pretty sure she had a blister. Her dad yelled at her again, telling her she should have worn something besides sandals. Grace’s mother had finally had enough of his shit and yelled at him to leave her alone. Grace felt her anger brewing. She fell back a few steps and walked beside her mom. She looked up at the gentle woman who was always so protective of her, as she cradled her little brother on those strong arms. Grace’s mom was so tall. She could only hope to be as tall as her one day. Since her mom’s arms were full of her little brother, Grace slipped two fingers through one of the woman’s belt loops and let her pull Grace along. 

By the time they reached the hotel, there wasn’t much day left. Grace was starving. She stood outside of the office, where a line of people waited to hopefully get a room. She listened to her angry father rave at the desk clerk about accepting his credit card. Her dad’s Spanish was excellent, or so he always told her. She only knew a few words herself. He tried to convince the clerk to let them have a room and as soon as the power was back on, the credit card would be good. He suggested that the hotel even charge them double for the inconvenience. That was just like Grace’s dad, always trying to control everything. In the end, they were denied. People with cash and traveler’s checks were booked first. As far as anyone was concerned, they were broke. 

Grace’s dad angrily led them to a nearby park. He instructed them to wait for him. Grace asked where he was going. He yelled something about food and stormed off across the road. She watched him go into a store with a name she didn’t understand. It looked like a restaurant. All Grace knew was that she still had to pee. It was now the only thing she could think about. She stood by the park bench, pulling her mother up. 

“Please, mom. I really have to go.” 

“Can’t you wait, sweetie?” Her mom seemed very distant, somewhere else entirely. The woman held Grace’s brother, who was no asleep. 

“No, mom. Please!” 

Her mother looked around at all the people standing around them, waiting for anything to happen. It was far too crowded to let Grace go behind a tree. She didn’t even know where they were at, to take Grace to a proper bathroom. 

“Just hold it till your father gets back, baby.” Her tone was completely vacant. 

Grace crossed her legs and tried so hard to think of anything else. She waited forever for her father to come back. She felt like if she moved at all, she’d lose control. Her bladder was overly full and she was cramping up. It was painful. “Mom... please!” Grace cried. She couldn’t hold it any longer. When her mother ignored her for the last time, Grace went behind the tree beside the park bench. She didn’t care who saw her. 

As Grace squatted behind the tree, she heard her father’s angry voice and her mother sounding somewhat concerned. “Where’s Grace?” He asked, clearly accusing the woman of not watching her. 

“Here.” Her voice felt weak in her own throat. Grace felt like she was going to faint. The relief was too great, and painful at the same time. Her father came around the side of the tree, stopping dead to stare at her. She felt so little and so stupid as he stared. His blue eyes flared with rage. His nose was bloody. Grace cried. She didn’t want an ass whipping right now. He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to her feet. She expected his hard hand across her backside, but he just dragged her back to the park bench. She was still peeing as he did it. “Wait!” She yelled. She tried to control herself, but it was no use. Her pants were wet now. She pulled them up anyway, looking around at everyone staring at her family. Her mother had said “just till things get back to normal.” 

At this point, Grace felt like normal was never coming back. 

Her father had brought some food. It wasn’t much, and it looked like he had been punched for it. Grace’s mother put her brother down and tended to the man’s nose. He pushed her eager hands away from his face. He said he was fine. There were a lot of people at the restaurant, all shoving and pushing each other for food, he said. He looked down at Grace, who was wet and clearly distraught. She saw an apology in his eyes, guilt too. She just looked down at her flip flops and tried not to cry. 

He knelt in front of her and put his arms around her tightly. “I’m sorry, baby girl.” He whispered. Grace wailed like a wounded animal. She was so scared and only needed her dad to hold it together right now. She needed him to make her feel safe. She didn’t know that’s what she needed, but she knew what it all felt like. She caved and collapsed in his arms. He scooped her up and carried her, as her family kept walking, searching for a place to spend the night. 

Grace’s dad found a relatively quiet spot behind an apartment complex. There was a pool and a patio that was fenced in. There was a roof over it all. The gate was locked, but he managed to pull it open at the bottom far enough for them all to slip inside. He spoke softly to Grace’s mother, wishing he had pulled out cash like she told him to. Grace knew that her father rarely admitted when he was wrong. Her mother held him and shushed him as he cried. His whole world had just been upheaved. Grace could do nothing but watch. She sat on a plastic recliner with her brother and ate the cold dinner of tortillas and meat. 

The next morning, Grace’s family began to walk back toward their car. There were noises far away, like the sound of bass drums. Grace did not know what it was, but her father kept telling her to hurry. He walked behind them, pushing them forward. Every few steps, Grace would feel his hand pushing against her, forcing her to run each time. He kept them going as Grace ran alongside her mother, who was carrying her brother. Grace wanted to be carried. Her feet hurt so bad. 

They made it to the border, along with hundreds of others. Grace expected to stop and have to wait all day again, but there were no guards at the stations. The border had been abandoned. They fled across into the U.S. Grace suddenly felt better, knowing they were at least home. The city of Laredo sprawled in front of her. She could almost remember where her house was from here. 

She watched the clouds in the sky change to strange mushroom shapes, as the sky itself turned from blue to an almost purple color. Grace thought it was really quite pretty. Her father kept yelling for them to run, to hurry. Grace couldn’t keep up, despite her father’s pushes on her back. He finally ended up carrying her all the way into the city. Abandoned cars lined the streets. People were running in every direction. People looked like they were shopping. Grace had no way of knowing that people were stealing everything they could get their hands on. 

The sky was pretty dark by the time they made it to their house. Grace had never been so happy to be home in her life. Her dad unlocked the front door and pushed all of them in roughly. He stepped inside, locked the door and rested his forehead against it. He was out of breath. Grace ran to her bedroom to turn on the tv. There was no electricity in the house. The power had been out for two days now. It seemed to be all over. She stood at the top of the stairs, listening to her parents talk. Neither of them had any idea what to do, but their best bet was to just stay home. They had plenty of food and water to last them a while, he said. Grace sat on the steps, listening and waiting, trying to gather as much adult information as she could. She felt her brother press himself against her. She offered him her arm. She knew he was scared too. 

The food lasted a little longer than a week. There was talk among the adults that groups of looters were coming through the residential areas, searching for food. Grace’s dad told her mom that they had nothing to protect themselves with. The suburbs were supposed to be safe from this kind of thing, he kept saying. That night, Grace’s dad packed them all up and moved them out of the house. They walked forever again. This time, Grace had on her tennis shoes, so her feet did not hurt all the time. 

They moved at night. They weren’t alone either. A big group of people were working together to get out of Laredo and further north. There was a rumor that things were better to the north, that there was power and food. Grace’s dad carried a backpack full of canned food. She could hear the cans clank together when he walked. It always reminded her that she was always hungry. 

After two days, the group broke up. Some went in one direction, others in the opposite. Grace’s dad kept them going north. They were with another family, who had even more kids, and less food than they did. Grace’s dad shared what they had, but kept enough for them to make it through another day. He decided the best thing to do was split off from that family and go their own way. Grace remembered being pulled awake by her mom as they made their escape. She remembered her brother crying. As they made their way out from under the overpass, Grace looked at the red and green hues of the sky. She wondered what made it that way. She remembered her mother’s hand pulling her hard. She didn’t know where her dad was. She couldn’t see him. Her mother held her brother and dragged Grace along, down the deserted highway. Her dad never caught up to them.


	5. Fires of Laredo

Grace had thought that the first year on the road was the worst. She was still with her mother and brother at that point. There were things she tried to remember, and things she tried to forget. Some things were burned into her memories like the nightly fires. 

One night, on the way back to Laredo, the sky was a weird hue of orange. She could smell smoke in the air, the pungent scent of something burning. The smells were carried on the wind right up her nose. She tried to identify what it was, but never could put her finger on it. Mostly, Grace smelled burnt rubber and meat. Her mother told her that the whole city was on fire. The wind was hot, and Grace wondered if it was the fire or the summer wind. She remembered the ash was thick like falling snow. Not that Grace had ever seen snow before, but this was how she imagined it. They turned back and went to Dilley. At least there, her mother said, a group of people would be willing to take them in. Grace had no idea the price her mother would pay for protection and food. 

According to the men in the survivor’s group, most of the cities were on fire. The machines were seeing to the assured destruction of life as they knew it. Grace didn’t know what machines these men were talking about. She listened, staying as silent as possible. She didn’t like being there and the more invisible she was, the less people messed with her. She stayed in the room her mother had obtained for them, mostly hanging out with her brother all day. Her mom would come home at night, looking tired all the time. Sometimes she would be bruised around her eyes or have a fat lip. She always brought them something to eat every night. 

Her family, minus her father, stayed with that group for a long time. They stayed through the winter and into the spring. There was a new man with her mother now. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her or her brother. He just claimed their mom as his own. Grace remembered asking about him, but all her mom would say was “it’s better for all of us this way.” All Grace knew was that it wasn’t. The food started coming less and less often until there was nothing left at all. He started getting meaner and meaner, hitting Grace’s mom in front of them. She felt like it was her job to get them all out of there. 

Young Grace plotted and planned, watching his every move. She tried watching every move of the group too, learning when the safest time to leave would be. Turns out there was not a safe time. Grace planned to get the three of them out one night, but her mother wouldn’t leave. She wouldn’t let the boy leave either. Instead, Grace’s mother packed her bag, with some food and a few clothes, and told her to go. Grace didn’t understand what was going on. She didn’t want to leave without her family. Her mother shook her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes and said “run!” Grace had never been so afraid of her mother. The look was wild, terrified. The man came in soon after that. He slammed the door behind him and began to take off his belt. Grace huddled in the corner with her mom and brother. “Which one of you gets it tonight?” he slurred. Grace could smell the alcohol a mile away. 

That was something she tried to forget. As she ran down the road by herself, Grace ran out of her mind. She’d left her family behind. She was sure they were dead anyway, or at least would be soon. She had a big cut on her left jaw and she was bleeding everywhere. Her face had taken the brunt of his belt buckle. She managed to get out of the room when her mother tried to stop him. 

Another thing she tried to forget. Grace just kept moving. She didn’t know where to go, so she followed the road. Grace remembered being in different groups for long periods of time, just to beg scraps from people. She did not want anything from anyone. She just wanted to eat. Hunger will do strange things to a body. A person can forget all about what was once important when they are suddenly starving to death. 

Grace managed to avoid the cannibal groups. Most of the people she stayed with over the years were nice enough, not requiring sexual favors for food. She spent most days working, clearing rubble from burned out buildings, making nests for newcomers. She spent her time gathering wood for fires. She mostly spent her days wandering around outside, avoiding the machines. Once a city was burned out, the machine presence got less and less. She remembered the tanks. The groups called them Rev-1s. They were the first line of defense for this thing called Legion. Grace tried to learn as much as she could about it, but nobody knew too much. It was some top-secret cyberwarfare intelligence that turned on people. 

The Rev-2s were weird. They looked like giant robotic skeletons. Grace remembered the glowing eyes and the weapons they carried. Those machines made Grace scared of the dark again. They marched, crushing whatever was beneath their feet. They were just heavy brutes. The machines didn’t stop, they just moved through, obliterating whatever stood in their way. She spent much of those first few years just running and hiding. 

The city of Laredo had become a sort of survivor’s network. The main buildings downtown were no more than ruins. There was no water or food. Scavenger crews had to go out to find whatever they needed. Every building seemed to house a group that needed or had something needful. Instead of staying outside, Grace learned how to navigate the buildings, jumping from one to another through old doors and holes in walls. She knew the ways that were safe, and the ones to stay away from. It became like a game for her. She’d move through the city, looking for food, trading things for bottles of water, or just whatever she could get her hands on. 

Grace had an extensive baseball card collection. She happened upon most of it by accident one day. The metal box was sitting in the middle of a concrete room. She almost thought it was a trap. She waited, perched behind a broken wall, waiting to see if anyone came by. No one did. Grace waited till nearly dark, staring at that box. When she finally approached it, the thing was locked. She smashed the simple lock with a brick. Inside was a pristine stack of baseball cards. There were tons of them, filed neatly by team and year. She had no idea who any of the players were or how to read stats. She’d never seen a game in her life. But she loved the faces of the men playing. She played a little game with them herself, where they would be people that she knew. In the abandoned sector of Laredo, she would pretend one of the baseball players lived there and she’d go visit. It was a stupid game, she knew, but it kept her mind occupied. She liked to think that one day, she’d be visiting Wade Boggs or Cy Young, and her mother and brother would be there too. That was something she tried to remember. 

After 4 years of hiding in the rubble of Laredo, Grace grew a little brave. She finally knew for sure that her family weren’t coming to get her. The old lady of her group had told her to give up on the false hope. The old woman had said that once people left, they didn’t come back. Grace knew this. She’d known from the time her father disappeared that people didn’t come back. She never knew what happened to him. She told people that some men killed him over a can of peaches. She thought it made him sound like a good person. She just told people she didn’t know what happened to her mother. She never spoke of her brother to anyone. She just tried to forget. 

Laredo had seen its share of people come and go. Mostly they just went. Sometimes, new people would come in and settle in the abandoned part of the city. Grace would steer clear until she knew for sure who they were and what they were about. One day, she thought it was clear. She hadn’t seen anyone new in weeks. The group elders had thought the newcomers had moved on. The machines hadn’t been through in months. 

Grace was out visiting Hank Aaron one day. She was talking to him and her mom and dad while she played baseball cards with her brother. The Legion aircraft zoomed overhead, so close, she could swear she could feel the heat of the engines. She did not bother to pack up her cards. She just grabbed her bag and ran. The machine seemed to be following her. Every room she entered; the thing flew right over head. She wasn’t looking where she was going when she was knocked flat by something hard. When she came to a stop, skidding across the dusty concrete, she felt her lip bleeding. She’d smacked her face on the ground and had the wind knocked out of her. When she was finally able to breathe, she looked up, seeing a small group of strangers. Grace made it her job to know everyone in the area. She didn’t know these people. The woman moved toward her, holding a large knife. The man had a gun. There was someone behind her too. They had her surrounded. 

“Come on, kid, we know you’ve got food. Give it over.” The woman said. Grace pulled out her pocket knife, prepared to defend herself. It wouldn’t be the first time she tangled with someone over food. She shook her head, backing up, trying to just get away. She was much smaller than this woman, who Grace knew would kill her easily if she wanted. These people were not starving. They were just taking. 

She barely heard the boots on the concrete walking up behind her.


	6. Wild Card

The first group she met were the ones she stayed with for the next several years. Dani trained every single person to fight. She moved them north further and further every year, picking up more survivors along the way. Monterrey, Mexico, was less of a threat to Legion now that almost everyone had left. Dani saw very few machines go through. The ones she did see, she let go by. There was no sense in drawing Legion’s attention to the area. Dani admired Legion’s efficiency. It concentrated on populated areas, burning people out into the open for a quick execution. Once the hive mind felt it had done its job to destroy the living, it moved on. The machines rarely came back unless there was a reason. HK’s flew overhead daily, almost on a timed schedule. Dani’s group had learned to watch out for them and avoid them. She only had about 20 people under her command, but they were willing to fight and knock out machines wherever they could. 

Dani was sick of running all the time. She was tired of hiding. In her opinion, this was not Legion’s world. Humans should take it back from them. The more people she had to fight the machines, the less people there would be fighting each other. She had seen and done too much of that already. By killing each other, people were making Legion’s job much easier. 

She had met a few soldiers coming from the north. They had been in El Paso at Fort Bliss when everything happened. They were currently on a mission to find desalinization equipment. They said that Legion was heavy up at Fort Bliss, and that everyone had moved underground. The soldiers warned her not to go that way. The radiation in that part of the state was generally still very bad. One soldier showed her the red rashes on his body. One had a large lump under his skin by his throat. They wished her well and went on their way to Mexico City. 

Dani needed to move north. They had all heard the rumors that things were better in the north. Stories of food and supplies, even electricity and hot water abounded over the years. It all pointed in one direction. North. Dani pulled out her map and looked it over. It was tattered and torn into three pieces. She moved them all together, looking to see how close to Laredo they were. She recalled her time spent at Carl’s cabin, wondering if it was still there. It was a pipe dream. She wanted to go there and stay forever, just living off the land. But Dani knew there probably wasn’t much land to live off of. It was probably just like everywhere else, covered in ash and bones. 

The group planned a move over the river. It wouldn’t take long. Legion had diverted most of the Rio Grande for its own personal uses. Mostly, Dani knew, it was just keeping humans from using it. Legion was a stingy bastard. It had a scorched earth tactic: burn everything to the ground so that the enemy can’t use it. The river was now so shallow it could be waded through at most places. Dani’s group packed up from Monterrey and left in the early morning. 

They did not see a single machine, other than the ones that people had managed to destroy. Dani’s group used them for target practice as they entered the Laredo city limits, or what was left of it. They stayed off the main road, walking between buildings. The suburbs were oddly intact. Other than being in serious disrepair, they looked ok. Dani ordered a squad to break off and try to find food and water. They were to meet up in the city center before dark. 

Dani had heard there were people still living in the city. How, she wasn’t sure. Nothing grew there. There was no food, no water. Still, she had to try and find more people to fight the machines. She heard the whine of the HK passing overhead in the distance. She signaled for her group to stop and take cover. They’d learned to move in silence, using only hand signals for communication. No one fired a shot until Dani did. 

Once the coast was clear, Dani moved the group down onto the main drag of Laredo. She could see people hanging out in entryways, watching them come in. No one usually messed with them, since they traveled in large numbers. She heard shouting from one particular building and decided to check it out. This was, a recruitment mission, after all. 

She stepped up through the broken concrete. The building looked like it had exploded. She could see daylight through the roof. Inside, she could hear someone demanding food. Dani stepped up into the building to see three grown adults surrounding a child. She wasn’t about to put up with that. She’d seen enough of that garbage over the last few years. People could be total opportunists, picking on the sick and the weak. She stepped in and stood, making her presence known. She could sense the guy next to her preparing to move on her with a tire iron. He swung and she dodged, smashing her fist into his face more than once. The woman stepped up to attack. As she did, Dani moved faster, twisting her arm, forcing the weapon from her hand. She cried out, more to instill fear in him than actual fear in herself. She was always scared when she was fighting, which might have been what kept her alive. She bent the woman’s arm down over her knee, holding it steady. One move and she’d snap it. 

The HK’s passed overhead, directly above them this time. The other two adults backed up, but the man pulled his gun on Dani. “Go ahead, she said. Shoot me and those HKs will be all over us. We’ll all be dead in seconds.” He lowered his gun slowly. Dani reminded him of the truth, that Legion wanted them to kill each other. She released the woman and put her knife down in her belt. She reminded the man that they should be fighting the machines. He did not think humans could win. Dani could see he had lost hope. She did her best, in her most fierce leader voice, to remind them all that humans created the machines and could destroy them. Dani was sick of the hopelessness. She was angry. Fuck fate, she decided a long time ago. The man lowered his gun, and as the other two stood up, Dani returned the woman’s knife to her. It was that simple sometimes. All people needed was to be reminded that the world was worth fighting for. It also helped that someone was leading it all. Most people were looking for someone to light the way through the dark. 

Dani turned back around to the poor wretch sitting in the dirt. The young kid had been still and silent the whole time. She knelt down and asked the kid’s name. She wasn’t sure she heard right at first, but she’s pretty sure the small voice under the hoodie said, “Grace.” Dani lowered her head, looking closer. She’d actually thought the kid was a boy. That’s when she pulled the hood back, seeing the signature bowl cut of Grace’s hair. The blue eyes. Her heart nearly exploded in her chest. She’d found her! It was all Dani could do to keep from hugging her tightly. She didn’t want to spook the poor girl. 

“Grace,” Dani whispered. “I’m Daniella. Dani.” 

The girl nodded but said nothing. Dani knew these three would have probably killed Grace over whatever she had in her pack. Grace had told her that much in 2022. What were the odds of finding the child alive just as Grace had foretold? 

Sometimes, fate throws you a wild card.


	7. Convergence

From that first day, Grace spent every moment that she could at Dani’s side. The group stayed in the ruins of Laredo for a few days, regrouping and reforming a plan of action. Now that Dani had Grace in her care, she really didn’t have much thought about how to proceed. Her entire plan so far was moving north, in hopes of finding a better life for everyone. This is almost where future Grace’s information ran out, other than telling Dani repeatedly that she was to be the leader of this thing called the Resistance. Dani let young Grace stay close to her as she tried to figure out what to do next. 

As they moved north beyond San Antonio, the machine presence grew stronger. The Rev 1 and 2s were everywhere the group turned. The machines did not yet have the ability to repel conventional weapons. Assault rifles and explosives were often enough to push the machines back. The terminators had the numbers though. The ratio of humans to machines was generally 1:5. Humans had their work cut out for them. Dani’s group still spent most of its time running. The copper mine had been a stroke of good luck. They had taken shelter there one night during a wind storm. Dani sent a few scouts down into the depths of the mine to check things out. They came back with more news than Dani could have hoped for. 

The expanse of the mine was vast. There were miles and miles of tunnels, abandoned equipment, and extra explosives. The team took the inventory, and Dani decided to use the mine as a base of operations. They had to bar the door. That was their one disadvantage against the machines. If Legion came knocking, there was no way to resist. The mine had a set of gates to keep unwanted visitors out at one time, but it was a paper-thin veil against the machines. There was one engineer who worked for the military at one time. Her expertise was essential in creating the entryway at home. 

Home. Dani didn’t want to consider this hole in the earth home, but it was better than sleeping out in the open. Her people would never be safe if they didn't have some sort of fortified shelter. The safety of humanity, however large or small the group was, was paramount. Dani instructed the engineer to start work right away. The mine was close enough to the city that they could make daily or weekly runs for supplies. It was also far enough away that the machines did not detect it as a threat. 

The crew in charge of security around the perimeter began building a mine field. It was not very extensive, considering they had few explosives in their possession, but it was a start. Watches were set up, rotating in eight-hour shifts. The mouth of the cave was dug low in the ground, leaving the ground raised into walls around it. This provided some much-needed cover for entry and egress. Dani’s exploration crew found three tunnels leading in and out. 

The two tunnels leading out, in the north and the west were big enough for airplanes to land in. Watches were posted to both tunnels until the engineer could figure out a way close them off. The west tunnel was eventually caved in when Dani decided not to use it. 

Without electricity and lights, life in the tunnels was hard. Batteries did not last long. There was no daylight. Dani pulled the group together to decide what to do about this problem. One man had heard about a refinery in San Antonio that would take payment in trade and work. The mine was equipped with several generators. There was lighting already installed throughout the entire place. They just needed a steady supply of fuel to keep them going. Dani sent him to go see about it. Also, inside the mine were several work trucks that still ran, having been safe from the EMP blasts. 

None of this happened overnight. Dani felt like a rat in a cage for most of the coming months that turned into years. She questioned herself every day, whether they were doing the right thing by stopping. The mine had plenty of space and Dani allowed new survivors in all the time. The rules were simple: if everyone worked, everyone ate and had a place to sleep. Work was comprised of all sorts of things. A person could help the engineer, dig out rooms, bring in supplies, and train to fight. Dani personally interviewed all newcomers, finding out their specific skillsets. Bankers and lawyers were less useful than plumbers and electricians. Dani needed people who could get their hands dirty and weren’t afraid to fight. 

Grace was another matter entirely. Since Dani picked her up in Laredo, the kid stuck to her like glue. Grace was skittish around new people. Her story was tragic. She had lost her entire family and wouldn’t really talk about it. Dani tried to get the kid to open up by telling her how she lost her own family to a terminator. Dani held back the rest of the details, making sure that the story could be true no matter how she told it. She kept Grace close to her in the first few years after finding her. Dani let her stay in her personal quarters. She taught Grace everything she knew about survival. Grace had a few tricks of her own that she taught Dani. The girl was resourceful to say the least. 

Once the home base became a permanent post, Dani’s group numbered in the hundreds. They had rigged up running water, got the lights running, had a steady supply of food and fuel, and several new alliances around the state of Texas. The human fighting forces were referring to themselves as the Resistance. Dani Ramos was their leader, whether she wanted to be or not. A group began calling her “the Commander” and the title stuck. There was no real, definitive power structure, no obvious chain of command. At first, everyone just followed Dani. She delegated authority to certain people who she had learned to trust. Those first years were mostly a guessing game on how to get things done. Her scavengers were hungry for structure though. People needed an organized system, Dani learned. One day, she sat down, using the people she trusted most, and gave them leadership. It was a top-down structure. Everyone answered to Dani in the end. 

Grace wanted very much to learn how to fight. Dani kept her from it for the first few years. She knew how it would turn out, and Dani did not want to let Grace die for her again. By keeping Grace from the rigors of soldiering, she hoped the kid would forget about it. Grace did not forget about anything, Dani was coming to realize. She had a mind like a steel trap. Dani told her she was too young. One thing Dani Ramos would not stand for was a child in her militias. Every year, Grace reminded Dani that she was getting old enough to learn. Even when Grace was seventeen, Dani still denied her entry into the service. The agreed upon enlistment age was seventeen. Dani and the local leaders had decided that when they realized they needed every trigger finger they could find. She was running out of excuses. 

On a very nondescript afternoon, just like any other, some visiting leaders and their families had come to Base 1 (that’s what Dani called it), for their monthly meetings. The leaders gathered and did inventories, talked about Legion activities in their areas, talked about losses and gains, and expansion of human territories. There was nothing different about this meeting, other than the emotional impact it had on Dani. For some reason, she could not take it. She excused herself early from the expansion meeting and took a walk. It was late in the day, though she was nowhere near daylight. The time was always the same in the mine. Lights on or lights off. All Dani knew was that she was tired of this war already. She walked down a tunnel just thinking about everything that had happened. 

She didn’t hear the boots behind her, nor did Dani feel the man’s grip on her hair until he had her pinned against the wall. 

“Hello there, Commander.” He hissed in her ear. His hands were all over her. She’d known his name was Robert. He’d come with the leaders from the west. He was originally an accountant from Port Arnasas before Judgement Day. He kept the records for the western militias. 

Dani struggled against him, trying to get free, but he was too strong. He used his body to pin her against the wall. He whispered sick things in her ear about what she’d had to do to become the leader of everything. He was jealous and wanted to teach her how to obey a man. She spit in his face, which earned her the hard back of his hand. She felt her lip split open and tasted blood in her mouth. Robert reached down and grabbed her crotch so hard Dani cried. She’d never been touched like that before, and he wasn’t being nice at all. He was just another bastard bent on taking what he wanted. His breath was nasty and hot. Dani squirmed and tried to put her mind anywhere else, preparing for the inevitable. He slid his hand to his pants and began to unbutton them. He’d torn her pants open and pushed them down around her knees. She could not get to her knife and he had taken her gun and thrown it away. Robert pressed his cock against Dani’s center, determined to push inside of her. 

The next thing Dani knew, she was on her knees and Robert was laying on the floor a few feet away. It had all happened so fast. She looked at him in the dim lights as he struggled against a kid half his age. The blonde-haired girl was pummeling him with a pipe, beating his face in. Dani sensed Grace’s fury. She watched as Grace took swing after enraged swing, breaking every bone in Robert’s face. And Dani just let it happen. She pulled her pants back up and found her pistol. Dani was incredibly calm considering the man was about to rape her. When Grace threw her knee into his exposed groin repeatedly, that’s when Dani stepped in. She bent and pulled Grace back. 

“Enough,” she whispered to the girl. She used a gentle touch with Grace, knowing that was how the blonde responded best. Grace smiled down at Robert’s bloody mug and spit in his face. That’s twice, asshole, Dani thought. She kicked him in the dick one more time for good measure before standing up. 

“Are you alright?” Grace asked. Dani could see the fire in the blue-eyed young woman. She could see the warrior she had loved so many years before. The gravity of the situation hit Dani like a ton of bricks. She shook violently, sobbing. She really did not want to do this anymore. Humans could be so messed up sometimes. No matter how Dani got to be the leader was no one’s business to question. Certainly, it was no man’s right to take it. Grace stepped against Dani and put her arms around her. Dani pressed her face into Grace’s chest realizing how tall the kid had actually grown in the last few years. For the first time since before 2022, Dani felt safe again. 

Grace eased back when Dani finally stopped crying. The blonde ran a hand down the back of Dani’s head and looked at her face. Grace ran a gentle thumb along the underside of Dani’s bottom lip where Robert had split it open. Grace sighed hard, hating the fact that someone had hurt Dani. She had been in love with Dani since she was old enough to understand her feelings. She followed Dani everywhere, sometimes at a safe distance so the Commander wouldn’t know she was there. Today had been one of those days, and it was a good thing too. Dani looked up with beautiful brown eyes, and Grace was hers. Grace really just wanted to kiss Dani right then, but understood that she probably was not ready for that. Instead, she let Dani lead her back down to a more populated area. Grace held her hand the whole way back. She’d never let anything bad happen to her again, if she could help it. 

That afternoon, Dani decided to let Grace fight. She wanted the young woman by her side from this day forward, fate be damned. 

Grace had been sneaking into Dani’s bed at night for well over a year before the incident with Robert. Dani allowed it, giving the girl only comfort and warmth. Grace never asked for more either. Some nights, Dani felt the young body pressed into her back and did everything she could to think of anything else. Grace was too young, Dani told herself. But at seventeen, Dani could no longer deny that Grace was growing up. The hard and fast rules of society were no longer applicable. It felt wrong though, taking an underage girl into her bed, but it was Grace. Dani would never hurt her intentionally. 

That night, Dani laid in bed, facing the wall. She tried to make herself go to sleep before Grace got back from training. Resistance soldiers often worked late into the evenings, depending on how everyone was doing. The training sessions were brutal, and every single soldier had to pass every task before the entire group would be released for the night. It was getting late. It had been Grace’s first day. Dani hoped that she had not been the reason for the group not being let go for the night. Finally, Dani heard Grace come in and pull the thick curtain across the doorway. She heard the blonde breathing, pulling her boots off. Dani felt a wave of relief pass through her. She waited for Grace to climb in next to her as she’d done every night for a year. Grace stayed back, sitting on her own pallet. 

Dani rolled over to look at Grace. The young woman sat there with her head hung low. “What’s wrong?” Dani whispered. They never talked louder than whispers when they were in the room. Too many other people slept right by them in dugouts throughout the north tunnel. 

“I’m just tired. Training was hard today. And I can’t help but think you need space right now.” Grace was referring to the incident with Robert only days before. The dynamic between them had just shifted from a child/guardian relationship to something else. Dani could feel it radiating from Grace. 

“Come here.” Dani whispered softly, inviting Grace into her bed in an entirely new way.


	8. Declaration

They did no more than kiss that first night together. Grace held Dani close and they slept, curled together in a familiar but more intimate way. Despite all of Dani’s desire for Grace, she decided to let the blonde make the first move, whenever that would be. For the time being, weeks and months, night after night, Dani and Grace kissed and touched, but no more than that. Some nights Grace fell into bed and went right to sleep. Combat training kicked the young woman’s ass every single day. 

Dani learned that many of the late nights that kept Grace away were, in fact, due to Grace’s inability to perform certain tasks. Combat training required Grace to be ruthless and fierce. From what the trainers were telling Dani at the weekly meetings, Grace was falling behind. She was still too timid to fight with the rest of the soldiers. Dani could understand it, given the young woman’s history. At the same time, Dani found it difficult to understand how Grace, who had beaten Robert bloody, could not find it in her to fight. 

Commander Ramos decided to check the situation out one afternoon. She had no meetings and nothing else planned. She made her way to the west tunnel, marveling at how big the mine actually was. The ceiling in the west tunnel was high, nearly 30 feet in all. The tunnel had once accommodated trucks the size of ferris wheels. 

At the training area, Dani located Grace and watched her. Grace’s group was doing hand-to-hand skills, where one soldier would have to disarm the other. Dani watched several trainees go through this, all with varying degrees of success. Grace was up next against a boy equal to the blonde’s size. Dani felt nervous, anxiously awaiting Grace to pull out some anger and rage. The boy moved on Grace with a blunted knife used in practice situations. Grace dodged him and tried to slip away. The boy lunged at her, taking her down in one move. He had the fake knife against her throat and the exercise was over. Dani watched Grace sulk into the back of the crowd. She could not have this. She knew Grace had it in her to fight. 

Dani stepped forward and paused the exercise. She took over the training position and called a new soldier forward. The woman was taller than Dani and outweighed her by at least 25 pounds. Dani handed the blunted knife to her and told her to do her best. The woman crouched, balancing her weight on the balls of her feet. Dani stood still, waiting, watching. She could see the shock of blonde hair above the rest of the crowd. She hoped Grace was paying close attention. 

Grace was not sure why Dani was here today, but she loved watching the Commander fight. She noticed that Dani did not take any kind of defensive position against her battle partner, Laura. Dani just stood and watched as Laura bent low. Laura switched the knife to her other hand and rolled toward Dani. In any other situation, Dani would have been able to side step the woman and put a knee in her back to disarm her. Instead, Dani just let Laura take her down. And that was all Grace needed to see. She pushed forward through the crowd of soldiers and launched herself at Laura, knocking the woman free of Dani’s body. Grace’s rage consumed her. She twisted the knife out of Laura’s hand and pinned her to the ground. She wanted to drive her forehead into the woman’s nose, to teach her a lesson about touching Dani. Instead, Grace held her down and seethed, hissing through her clenched teeth. The gentle touch on her shoulder allowed her to pull back and step away from Laura. 

Dani pulled Grace to the side and said, “that, amor, is what I need from you every time. Every single fight you get into, every exercise is about protecting me. I’ve seen you nearly kill a man for me. Learn to control it, and you’ll be the most feared fighter in the Resistance.” Dani could feel the aggression coming from Grace. She wanted the blonde soldier to use that. “Do not ever let me see you get left behind again. You’re better than that.” 

Grace was staring down into Dani’s eyes while she said all of that. Grace felt the burn of shame inside of her, knowing that the leaders had been talking to Dani about her lack of progress. She shook her head and looked away. This was such bullshit. Grace’s shame had just been put on public display. She dropped the fake knife and walked away. 

Dani knew the blonde would use this lesson to be a better fighter. She knew Grace would not want to face the embarrassment of having Dani come down there again. Everyone knew she was the Commander’s pet, but this made it all that much worse. 

In their shared room, that night, Dani prepared some rations for dinner. She ate first, not waiting for Grace. She figured the blonde would be late again. Dani slipped into bed, pulled the covers over her and waited until she could no longer stay awake. She woke up hours later, and Grace still wasn’t there. Dani huffed quietly, realizing she might have hurt Grace’s pride and her feelings earlier. Dani chalked it up to Grace’s immaturity and let herself go back to sleep. 

She knew Grace was mad at her, but did not expect it to go on as long as it did. Grace kept to herself and even moved to another room down the tunnel. Dani let her go, hoping Grace would get over it and come back eventually, but she didn’t. The Commander kept quiet tabs on her, getting weekly reports from the trainers. Grace was actually doing quite well now, scheduled to graduate on her 18th birthday. Grace worked an odd job on the weekends, helping to build the new section of tunnel to the east. She did not see Grace much in the next couple of months, but Dani knew the young woman had to find her own way this time. 

Graduation came and went. Grace commenced in the top of her class, only two other soldiers in front of her. Dani attended the ceremony, but did not stick around. Her heart was heavy and she missed Grace terribly, but she could not bring herself to admit it. Grace needed space from her to gain her own notoriety among the soldiers. She did not need to be made fun of and sneered at for being the Commander’s baby. 

Dani had obtained a chess set from another soldier. The young man had carved the pieces out of stone from the mine. One set of pieces were copper. The other stone. The board was made of wood scavenged from somewhere outside. It was a really beautiful piece. If Grace ever came around again, Dani meant to give it to her. Instead, Dani left it sitting out on the pallet where Grace once slept. 

The night she got home from work, Dani was anxious. She could not sleep. She missed her friend. Her room was cold without Grace, in more ways than one. She laid in bed thinking of the woman who was bedded down mere feet away in her own room. Dani had not heard of Grace taking a lover even one time since they split up. Grace had focused solely on training and working. Dani laid on her back, thinking of the blonde warrior. She thought of how Grace took Robert down and beat him senseless. The fire she saw in Grace that day was a complete turn on. Dani felt herself throb and ache, and it was all for Grace. She thought about slipping her hand in her pants and taking care of that ache. Dani suddenly had a better idea. 

She stood up, buttoned her pants and put on her unlaced boots. Dani crept down the hallway, careful not to make any noise. The sounds of sleeping soldiers was music to her ears. The snoring and breathing meant that everyone was alive, working, and taking care of themselves. Dani knew where Grace’s room was. There was nothing about Grace that Dani did not know. 

Outside of Grace’s room, Dani pulled the curtain back. The sight of the blonde warrior in the dimly lit hall took Dani’s breath away. She laid on her side, facing Dani, wearing nothing on top. The wool blanket covering Grace’s lower half provided a very stimulating mystery. Dani invited herself inside and pulled the curtain behind her. She kicked off her boots and sat on the edge of Grace’s bed. She sat so softly that the blonde did not even move. Dani looked at Grace’s upper body, seeing how well defined and muscular she was becoming. Grace’s breasts were small but perfect. Dani had never seen her naked before. Grace’s pale skin almost glowed in the darkened room. The Commander reached out and brushed her fingertips across Grace’s cheek, touching the scar on her jaw. She could not ever really remember seeing Grace without it. 

The blonde started to come around, unsure of what was going on. The confusion and anger in her eyes spurred Dani on to move closer. Grace breathed hard, suddenly aware of their proximity and her own nudity and pulled away, bringing the blanket up over her chest. 

“Grace, I want this to be done. I’m tired of waiting for you to come back.” Dani reached for the blonde’s hand, gripping it tightly. She did not want to be without Grace for another minute. 

“You hurt me, in public. You tricked me, and everyone saw it.” Grace had not forgotten. 

“I did what I had to do to make you better.” Dani had no regrets about embarrassing Grace. 

The blonde tried to pull away, but Dani would not let her. Dani moved even closer to her, without actually laying down next to her. She released Grace’s hand and stroked her fingers up the blonde’s arm, touching her lightly all the way across a broad shoulder. Grace closed her eyes and groaned at the gentle touch. She’d been dreaming of this for months as she set herself apart from Dani. 

“Dani, I can’t.” Grace groaned, fighting her yearning for the Commander. 

“Why?” 

“There’s something about me you don’t know.” 

“Grace, what could I possibly not know about you?” Dani laid down, pressing herself against the blonde. She felt Grace try to pull back, but there was nowhere left for her to go. Dani knew that cornering Grace was a perfect way to bring out her aggression, something Dani absolutely needed right then. She pressed her hips against Grace’s, and the question was answered. Dani felt the growing bulge between them. She looked Grace in the eye and sighed deeply. “Oh.” Dani glanced down, letting Grace know she understood. “It’s ok with me if it’s okay with you, Grace.” 

Grace’s skin burned hot. She was embarrassed and aroused. She wanted Dani to touch her. She shut her eyes tight, trying to will herself to disappear. Dani pulled the blanket back slowly and slipped under it. Their hands were suddenly all over each other. Grace’s mouth was eager, finding Dani’s lips with her own. Dani fumbled with her clothing, trying to get everything undone and off quickly. Grace helped her with careful fingers. 

Grace pushed back and stared at the naked woman in her bed. Dani’s skin was so perfect, dark and beautiful. Grace studied every mole, every scar, every hair. She loved the light layer of fur on Dani’s body. She had always loved how soft the woman was when they slept together, but this was a whole new level of wonderful. “I want to touch you,” Grace whispered awkwardly. 

“Touch me, then.” Dani took one of Grace’s hands and brought it up to a soft breast. Grace moaned almost too loud. Dani shushed her with a kiss, inviting Grace to touch her everywhere. Grace felt herself getting harder and harder. She stripped her shorts off, letting herself spring free. Dani slipped a hand down between them and took hold of Grace’s shaft. Grace swallowed hard, convinced she might come right then. She had never experienced the pleasure of being with a woman, and did not know what to do. She was not sure how it should feel, but Dani felt amazing. Grace felt like she was about to explode. She was breathing hard and her heart was racing. 

“Dani, wait. I don’t know what to do.” Grace was panting. Dani decided to slow it down. She withdrew her hand, not wanting Grace to come yet. 

“Breathe, love. Just breathe. Dani shifted in the small bed and laid on her back, keeping Grace at her right side. She reached and pulled the blonde’s hand toward her. “Just touch my body. Get to know me.” Dani took her hand away and let Grace roam. Dani pulled Grace by the back of the neck kissing her gently, slowly deepening it. She opened her mouth and tasted Grace’s lips. There was salt. Dani moaned softly, loving the taste of the young blonde. Grace’s tongue, though inexperienced, was skilled and deft, stroking Dani’s slowly and softly. The kiss was filthy and made Dani throb. She took Grace’s hand and slipped it between her legs. She molded Grace’s fingers with hers, pressing between the soft wet folds against her swollen clit. “Here. Feel that?” Dani made herself throb against Grace’s fingertips. The blonde nodded. “That is where it feels the best.” Dani helped Grace to move her fingers in gentle circles. Dani breathed hard at the sensation of Grace’s touch. “Yes, like that.” Dani pulled her hand away, letting Grace do it herself. 

Dani let her work for a few moments until the blonde was comfortable. Grace pulled her fingers away, waited a moment, then found her own way back as if for the first time. Dani gazed into her deep blue eyes and nodded, moaning softly when Grace massaged her clit again. Dani did not want to come yet either. She took Grace by the wrist and guided her hand lower. She lined one of her fingers against one of Grace’s and showed her how to push inside. The feeling of her own finger and Grace’s inside of her was too much. Dani arched her back against the blonde, wanting more. Grace gasped. The sensation of Dani’s warm, wet flesh was fire. Dani pulled her hand away, letting Grace go alone. “This is where you fit inside of me,” Dani whispered. She reached her hand out and held Grace’s engorged cock. “Are you ready?” 

Grace made a noise in confirmation. She did not think she could handle it. If her finger felt that good inside of Dani’s body, she could not imagine how good her cock would feel. As if on cue, Dani pulled Grace to lay on top of her. Dani positioned Grace at her wet opening. “Push, Grace. Slowly, softly, please.” Grace froze. She could not move. Dani’s request sent her body into overdrive. “Please, Grace.” 

Oh god, the blonde thought. Dani’s need for her pushed her closer to the edge. She felt fluid dripping from the tip of her shaft. Grace steadied herself, took a few deep breaths and let Dani pull her down against her. Grace’s mind was overloading with new sensations. She felt Dani shift her hips upward as she pulled Grace’s hips down. Grace’s throbbing cock slid deep inside, as slowly as Dani wanted. 

Grace couldn’t think. Her mind shattered in every direction and she came hard. “Dani, I’m sorry.” Grace said, far too loud. Dani was sure she heard someone laugh not far away. She pulled Grace deeper into her, feeling the young warrior spill her seed inside. She kissed Grace hard, holding her close. Grace bucked and shook. The orgasm was bittersweet. Yes, she had wanted to do this with Dani for a long time, but she also wanted to do this with Dani, for a long time. The seconds that Grace lasted were unacceptable to her. 

Dani wrapped her legs around the blonde, not letting her pull out. She felt Grace throb and come, but the blonde’s erection never went down. Dani held her and kissed her, touched her everywhere, encouraging her to do it all over again. “It gets better. You’ll last longer the second time.” Dani assured her. The Commander started rocking her hips again, still needing Grace to perform. Grace felt her arousal begin again. Her cock twitched and began to throb all over again. Dani’s body was too perfect. She was tight and soft and warm. Grace slowly started pumping her hips. “That’s it, Grace. Just like that.” Dani reacted to the motion, pushing against Grace’s every stroke. “Touch me,” Dani whispered. Grace slipped her hand between them and found Dani’s clit with her thumb. Dani moaned and panted as Grace worked her into a frenzy. Grace felt more confident this time, feeling her climax build slower now. The feeling of Dani’s orgasm was enough to trigger Grace’s own. Dani arched her back and her body shivered. Grace held onto her with her free hand, holding her protectively. 

“You’re safe, Dani.” Grace whispered, moaning gently into Dani’s ear. Hearing the blonde warrior say that to her sent Dani over the edge. She bucked hard against Grace’s hips, driving her deeper inside. Grace moved faster, bringing her climax on. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she let go for the second time. 

“Oh God, Grace! Yes!” Dani groaned loudly. She knew people were listening to them. She could hear the hushed voices nearby. She wanted them to know that Grace was her lover and was making the Commander feel good. Grace needed the boost of confidence. And Dani needed everyone to know she was protected and unavailable.


	9. Rabbits

The winter was colder than Dani ever remembered any winter being. There wasn’t much snow, but the wind was ferocious and bitter. Legion did not do much damage that winter. Mechanical circuits weren’t built for extreme temperatures. Terminators could survive under water, without oxygen for indefinite periods of time; but they were just not made for cold weather. The colder it got, the better Dani felt. 

Humanity mostly hunkered down indoors as well. December of 2032 had been the coldest on record since Judgement Day. The world had been tossed into a nuclear winter that lasted two years after the nukes burned the world. The average annual temperature was 27F. Nothing grew in the permafrost. Most people starved. Grace had been right about that. The food ran out. When the skies finally cleared and the earth began to warm, farming had become something of a lost art. People had to relearn how to plant crops and tend gardens. Once, over 40% of the world’s surface area was devoted solely to agriculture. That number was a mere fraction now. People grew food in small plots on top of roofs or in spaces no bigger than a backyard. Anything bigger than that outside in the open was a Legion target. Legion loved to burn crop fields. 

The destruction of food sources led to the continuation of cannibalism. Dani was always scared of that idea. She knew that Base 1 was always one step away from eating each other. It was only through perseverance and her leadership, she hoped, that people kept working hard to keep the food supply strong. There were stories floating around about large convoys of man-eaters that moved through areas, enslaving the young and weak. That was another thing the Resistance fought against. Not every human being was friendly. Dani Ramos had yet to see the convoys, but it was a big continent. Base 1 did not advertise its presence for several reasons, that being one. 

Perimeter watches in the winters were done via closed circuit cameras. Watches included teams of two who monitored the cameras surrounding the base. Shifts were broken into twelve-hour increments, since the work required soldiers to stay inside. 

January brought its own set of problems to the Resistance table. Not only was food running out, so was fuel. Texas had once been a fruitful oil field back in the day. Legion had sought to destroy existing wells, pumps, and refineries. The interim refineries were small, and Base 1’s needs were increasing every year. The establishment ran on 5 diesel generators at any given time. The generators ran the lights, the water pumps, the blast doors, the heat, and the air filtration system. By January, the air filtration systems were overloaded. Many people were getting sick with carbon monoxide poisoning. The fresh air was no longer fresh. It was a double-edged problem, because it wasn’t just that the filters were fucking up, but the generators were producing a lot of CO2 by themselves. 

Dani called a meeting with the engineers. Base 1 needed a new power source. Diesel was not cutting it anymore. If they kept this up, the group would not have to worry about starving to death. They’d all suffocate within a couple of months. For the time being, Dani ordered the blast doors in the south and west tunnels opened several times a day. It was cold, but the air was fresh. The ventilation system would get cranked up, pushing toxic air and gases out at least 3 times a day. It was not ideal. It was a bandage on an arterial bleed. Base 1 would falter without a new power source. 

No one really had any better ideas. If the electrical grid were operational, they could draw power from other bases, sharing and giving back. Unfortunately, the bases were spread too far apart, and a solid generation plant was not an option yet. Dani decided to call the base leaders together for an emergency meeting. They needed to pool their resources and help each other reach mutually beneficial results. 

One base leader, Michael Duncan, from Base 4, had heard about people stopping Rev-2s and confiscating their power cells. The risk of holding on to Legion hardware was high. Legion had a way to track the power sources. That would lead the machines right back home. Dani could not allow that. Solar energy was possible, but the winters were so dark, it was just not practical all year round. The problem really left a sour taste in Dani’s mouth. Out of all of humanity’s greatest creations, nothing was available anymore. What Dani needed were scientists. Were there any of those left anymore? 

Instead of complaining about it, Dani decided to send search teams in every direction. She needed to recruit people with science degrees. She had avoided that in the beginning when soldiers seemed more important than anything else. The recruitment would begin immediately, under Dani’s command. The other leaders agreed they could spare some people to go out and find what they needed. It wasn’t like a simple supply run, she warned them. Crews could be gone for a long time, looking for needles in haystacks. The journeys would be dangerous. Dani did not even know where to begin looking. Michael Duncan told her to begin looking in California, in Los Angeles near UCLA. Places with major colleges were good places to begin looking. At least it was something. Perhaps if no one could be found in those areas, the crews could be pointed in better directions. Dani felt like she was just flailing in outer space right now. This seemed like a stupid idea, but she could not just sit on her ass and let her people be poisoned by the machines dedicated to keeping them alive. The plan was set. Every base would select a team to go out in a different direction. For some reason, Dani felt like humanity was back in the Dark Ages, sending explorers out to map the oceans. And gods only knew what monsters lurked in the deep. 

The sirens sounded and blasted Dani into the middle of the following week. She never liked hearing the emergency alarms, mostly because of how loud they were. The mine had a great echo effect, and the sirens just ripped reality for her. The leaders adjourned the meeting and everyone mustered for battle or whatever emergency was happening. 

Dani ran from the meeting room to her assistant, Josh Alexander. “What’s going on?” She yelled over the sirens. 

“Terminators. A lot of them, coming fast down from the east.” Josh said excitedly. 

“Cut those fucking sirens and close all the gates!” Dani ordered. She took off running down to the monitoring station, to see what she could see. 

Everyone was running through the base in one direction or another. Dani kept to the right of the tunnel, with the flow of traffic. She passed Grace going the other direction. They exchanged a look, peeking back at one another, worried for each other. If a team had to go out, Grace would be on it. If the machines got inside, Dani’s life was at risk. Hell, Dani would go out with Grace’s outfit if it came down to the wire. Everyone knew Commander Ramos was not afraid of a fight. 

She stepped into the corridor housing the camera equipment. She stared over the shoulders of two soldiers. “Where are they?” She asked, not seeing anything on the screen. One soldier pulled up the radar, showing Dani a massive wave of machines heading right for them. “Are the blast doors shut? Is everything secure?” 

“Yes, ma’am, but the CO2 levels are rising as we speak.” Josh told her, handing her a printout of the latest readings. This was not good news. They’d all be dead within the day if those doors weren’t open. Opening the doors meant letting Legion inside for coffee. 

“We are fucked,” Dani whispered. “I thought terminators did not maneuver during the cold months? Josh?” 

“We don’t know. We need eyes on them.” The assistant explained. Dani could not imagine the machines wearing winter coats and gloves. It must have been a new line that was impervious to the cold. Fear settled in her heart. Everything she had helped to build was in imminent danger. 

“Shut off the heat. Shut off the water for now. Cut all non-essential services. Shut down as many generators as you can, Josh. Now!” 

Josh Alexander ran to the lower levels with the Commander’s emergency orders. It was about to get really cold really fast. Base 1 was hanging on by a thread. Dani watched in horror as the machines marched up to the front gate. And there they stopped, waiting. On the cameras, they looked almost statuesque, like that terra cotta army in China. They were just waiting for orders. Machines appeared in large groups on every camera monitor. Base 1 was surrounded. There was no way to get an SOS message out. The only radio they had didn’t work. 

Dani found the other leaders and asked if there were any crews out right now that could come help. The leader from Base 2 had one crew out on a supply run, but they’d probably have headed back home by then. No one else had any teams out in the bitter cold. 

“What you need are rabbits.” The voice behind Dani was familiar. She swung around to see Grace standing behind her. Grace had no other place to be, as it was her turn on watch, since no soldiers had been ordered to go out yet. 

“What?” Dani had no idea what she meant by rabbits. 

“Those are dogs,” Grace pointed to the screens. “They need something to chase. We need rabbits.” It seemed simple enough, and if Dani was understanding what she meant, Base 1 needed decoys. Rabbits. It was a great idea, but how would the get anything out without drawing the machines inside? 

“I need a map of the mine.” Grace looked to Dani, hoping she was not overstepping her bounds. At this point, Dani didn’t care who came up with a plan, as long as it worked. Dani led Grace back to her office, where there were maps and charts of every inch of the copper mine. Once behind closed doors, they went to work. Grace was extremely professional, Dani realized, in the heat of the moment. She could barely take her eyes off the blonde as she looked over the maps. 

“Okay, look, Commander.” Grace was so formal with her sometimes. “There are air shafts, here, here, and here,” Grace marked every spot with something on Dani’s desk. The first shaft was marked by a glass paperweight. The second was marked by a shot glass. The third was marked by piece of paper that Grace folded up. “We have surveillance drones. If we can fly them up through the shafts and get the attention of the machines, we can start drawing them off. Or, we can get people up there. We’ll have to get someone up there to pull off the cages anyway.” 

The air shafts were hundreds of feet long, going all the way up through the earth to the surface. Dani was not sure how they’d get anyone up there without sending people outside. The drones were a good idea. Base 1 needed a diversion. Dani held her chin in her hand, looking at the map, looking at Grace, and back to the map again. 

“Can we do this? Without going outside?” Dani asked. She was not willing to send anyone outside to their certain death. 

“Yeah, I mean the shafts are designed for a single person to crawl through, for maintenance. There are rungs to climb all the way up. You just need someone thin.” Grace grinned at her, obviously referring to herself. It would be dangerous, having anyone go up there to take off the cages. As soon as Legion detected movement, the machines would march. They were running out of time and options. 

“Make it happen, soldier.” Dani turned off her emotions, fully knowing that Grace had the only plan that made sense. “Rig up those drones with explosives, remote detonators, and crash them somewhere else. We have to get a team out there to find a new power source, immediately. Go, now.” Dani reached out and grabbed a hold of Grace’s arm before she could leave. She pulled the tall blonde into her and kissed her hard. “Be careful, Grace.” 

The blonde nodded to her and squeezed her hand quickly. The look in Grace’s eye told Dani to trust her. She turned and headed out with the map under her arm. 

Dani slumped against the side of her desk. The lights in her office dimmed. She heard the rumble of the generators go slack as they powered down. This was probably not a good idea, she realized. But Legion could wait indefinitely and Base 1 could not. She needed the escape/recruitment team to get to the nearest bases, Base 3 and 5, and bring help as the rest of the crew splintered off to find scientists. This was not the war Dani Ramos imagined all those years ago.


	10. Like We Don't Have Enough Problems

Grace and three other crew members pulled the emergency ladders down from the air shaft via an ancient rope. The rope had been tied to the bottom rung of the ladder many years before Judgement Day. It held, allowing them to pull the metal rungs down. Grace took the first step, realizing that some of the rungs were rusted or rotting somehow. It was just aluminum, not designed to withstand the apocalypse and years of disrepair. She only slipped once, halfway up the air shaft. She caught herself when her knee slipped down over the next rung down and she slammed back against the cold stone of the shaft. She felt her skull bounce off the hard surface. She shook it off and regained her hold on the ladder. Reminding herself to be more careful, Grace continued the trek upward to the surface. It looked so far away, just a pinhole in her vision. Looking down gave her the creeps. She wasn’t afraid of heights, but falling all that way would kill her. 

The rope tied around her waist held the little radio-controlled drone, rigged with explosives. If Grace ever felt like her life was in danger, this was the moment. She hummed a song to herself, one she had made up years ago. It did not have any words, just a tune that she could repeat over and over to keep herself centered. Her voice echoed off the smooth stone. She was glad she wasn’t claustrophobic, otherwise this would have been really scary. She felt sweat beading on her forehead, even though it was getting colder the higher she went. 

A voice from below called up to her, asking how she was. “Fine!” Grace yelled back down. She didn’t want to make noise right now. She was getting close to the top. She just had to remove the rebar cover on the air shaft and set the drone outside and replace the cover again. It was simple. She could hear the wind outside now, and something else that sounded like voices. She convinced herself it was only the matrixing of the wind outside. Sometimes, when the wind howled, she swore she could hear other things. The old woman in her survivors' group assured her it was just a trick on her ears. Grace told herself that this time too. 

When she reached the top, she hooked a solid rung with her knee again, holding herself steady. She reached up and began to untie the wire holding the gates on. Someone had rigged this up a long time ago, not for security, but to keep the rebar from moving away. The iron had been bolted down at one point, but someone had cut it all free. If the machines knew about this hole in the fortress, they’d be down in minutes. She worked quickly, humming quietly, her voice no louder than a whisper. She could hear the wind, and she was sure there was something else. It sounded like, crying, maybe? And a man’s voice? She stopped to listen carefully. Someone was calling for help. She was sure of it. She worked faster to get the cage away so she could take a look around. 

Grace pulled the cage away, sliding it to the side, up on the surface. She slowly poked her head out, careful not to make any sudden movements. The wind whipped around her ears, stinging her skin. Fuck, it’s cold, Grace said silently. She let her eyes adjust to the sunlight, blinking several times. Yes, she was sure she heard it. A child’s cry followed by a man’s voice asking for help. But now, it was loud, coming from behind her. Grace twisted her torso, careful not to lose her leg grip on the ladder. She turned and stared down a speaker. It wasn’t a radio speaker. It was like an alarm speaker, a loudspeaker, part of a P.A. system. The voices were coming from it. The voices were coming from inside Base 1. The voices kept repeating. Grace knew this was no distress call. Someone inside had programmed a loop to play continuously. Someone inside had drawn the machines to them. 

Grace had no time to think about it. She ducked her head down and pulled the drone up. She switched it on, taking care to make sure the explosives were secure. Carefully, Grace laid the little machine on the ground and made her way back inside, carefully replacing the metal grate over her head. Her signal to the crew below was to drop the rope, letting it fall to the ground. Calling out right now would be a death sentence to them all. With her leg still hooked around the rung, Grace untied the length of rope from her waist and let it fall. She watched it drop into the darkness. A faint fluttering below told her it had hit something. She started making her way down, quickly but carefully. She couldn’t remember where the broken rungs were anymore. She’d just have to do it all by feeling her way. The other two shafts could be put off for a minute. She needed to find Dani and tell her about the locator signal. 

When she finally reached the bottom, the crew informed her that the drone took off and drew about half the terminators with it. She thanked them and made off to Dani’s office. She wasn’t sure where she’d be right now. The crew asked if she was going to finish the other two shafts. She said to send someone else. She had to take care of something. 

Grace ran down the tunnel for what felt like miles. Her legs ached from climbing. Her head hurt from smacking it on the stone. She had to find Dani. The Commander was not in her office. She was not at the comms station either. No one had seen her since she took off with Grace earlier. 

Fuck. Grace stood in the main hall of the mine, not far from the entrance of the south tunnel. In this area, tunnels split off four ways. Dani could be anywhere. 

Dani Ramos sat in her chair; palms flat on the surface of her desk. She was terrified. She’d heard Grace knock and call for her. She could not answer. She could not even move. Her guest was asking her politely, at the behest of his pistol, to remain silent. All she could think, as she stared down at her hands, was “as if we don’t have enough problems.” 

Robert Bakas sat in the guest seat across from Dani. He held the gun on her for over an hour, basically since Grace left her office. He had been watching and slipped in as the blonde retreated down the tunnel. Dani’s office had once been the mine manager’s office. It was one of just a few actual rooms with doors in the entire cavern. It was even fitted with a lock, which Robert Bakas used today. He spoke to her through a shattered face. His features had not healed well over time. He had not forgotten what happened to him that day. He was still convinced that the Commander’s position should be his. He was smarter than everyone in the Resistance combined, he told her. He had been passed over for everything his entire life. Now that there were no rules, he was going to take what he wanted. 

Robert Bakas was a general loser in life. He’d lost his hair early, before he even graduated college in his early 20s. He’d been a CPA for almost 13 years before the bombs dropped. He had never married, hardly went on a date. He never fathered children, that he knew of. He lived with his mother until she died of ovarian cancer. She had told him it was all his fault for being born. She said she was kidding, but he still felt the rejection from his own mother just the same. Robert Bakas was an alcoholic. The war was difficult for him because it was hard to get gratification. It made him mean. It made him a taker. And he was going to take it all from Dani. He had friends inside the base willing to help him. 

“I brought them all here.” He said to Dani very casually. “All of your new arrivals outside? I brought them to your door. I can make them go away. But I need you to step down and hand everything over to me.” 

“Why?” Dani asked, trying not to cry again. 

“Because, I want it. I want it more than you do. I can see it in your eyes, bitch. You don’t want this. I know your kind. You’d give anything to give it all up for that blonde freak of yours.” 

“Don’t you fucking talk about her.” 

“The chick with the dick?” Robert sniffled as he laughed. It disgusted Dani to the very core of her being. “Everyone knows about that thing. And you love it.” Robert smiled at her, and Dani could see most of his teeth were gone. She hoped he had swallowed them when Grace beat the shit out of him. 

“Dani, I’m going to give you one chance to do this right, without getting hurt.” Robert stood up and walked around the desk, leaning against it right next to Dani’s hands. He held the gun, cradled in both hands, resting against his belly. She could smell the stink of fear on him. This was his only chance to ever do anything with his life. If Dani had a say in it, this would cost him his life. She’d throw him to the machines. “Do you want to hear your options?” 

Grace did not have time to wonder where Dani had gotten to. She ran back to the comms room and asked the soldiers on duty where the P.A. system was located in the mine. 

In stereo, they both turned to her and said together, “Assistant’s desk.” Grace nodded, wondering what role Josh Alexander had in this. 

The air was cooling off without the heaters running. Grace pulled her beanie from her pocket and slipped it on, pulling it down over her ears. She wished she had her jacket. Running would produce heat. She sprinted back down the hall in the direction of Dani’s office. Even if the Commander was not around, at least she could find the P.A. system and shut it down before more machines showed up. 

Josh Alexander was seated at his desk, nonchalantly reading an ancient magazine. He looked up at Grace and smiled. “What do you want?” 

“The P.A. Shut it down.” 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, soldier. I have orders to keep the signal on high, repeating indefinitely.” His grin was toothy and obnoxious. Grace wanted to bash his head into the desk. Her reflexes were quick. She reached across the desk and grabbed Josh by the shirt collar, bringing his chin down hard on his desk. Josh grunted, biting through his tongue. He spat blood across his desk as Grace used her other hand to push his cheek down into the desk. 

“I’ll ask you one more fucking time. Where is it?” Grace hissed. 

Josh did not answer. She fisted his hair and slammed his head down hard. “Where?!” 

The assistant pointed to the locked cabinet behind him. Grace looked up at it and slammed his face against the desk one more time just because she did not like him. She stood to go to the cabinet. 

“Grace?” The voice was distant, small, coming from behind Dani’s office door. It was enough to stop her dead in her tracks. She looked back at Josh who was tending his bloodied face. She heard the door lock pop and watched the office door slowly open to the inside. 

Grace ignored the P.A. for a moment, to look in Dani’s office. Something was very wrong. She reached out and pushed the door completely open. The sight in front of her nearly took her to her knees. 

Robert Bakas stood behind Dani with his gun to her temple. “Come in, asshole.” He lisped. Grace knew if she jumped at him, he’d kill her or Dani. Probably both. Grace raised her hands up, showing him she did not have a weapon. “Sit down.” He twisted and followed Grace as she stepped carefully across the room. She was looking for any opportunity to free Dani from this situation. She looked at Dani, doing a visual inspection. Other than scared to death, Dani looked ok. Her clothes were intact. She wasn’t bleeding. 

“Like we don’t have enough fucking problems right now?” Grace asked, fully convinced that this lunatic had lost his mind. He told her to sit and leave her hands where he could see them. 

Grace slid toward the desk chair. She had no choice. Before she sat down, she thought about it. “You know Robert, you can kill one of us, but the other is going to be quick enough to kill you before you get us both. And you should know, that I really, really want to kill you.” Grace knew it was a gamble. She was rolling the dice with Dani’s life. She reached forward, fast as lightning and grabbed the paperweight and tossed it carelessly at him. Robert turned the gun on Grace and fired right as Dani kicked free of him. The bullet tore through her right arm, knocking her back against the chair. He turned to point the gun at Dani next, but the smaller woman already had her knife pulled and was on her way to his throat. She knew better than to hesitate. She threw all of her weight into him and drove the blade through his wind pipe, slightly to the left. She sliced right through his carotid artery, pulling back with equal force, severing it completely. He fired the gun aimlessly before dropping it on the floor. Grace jumped at it, picked it up and shot him in the head before he could even clutch his throat. He dropped like a stone in a river. Dani stared at Grace who stared back at Dani. The entire thing took less than a few seconds. 

Grace suddenly became aware that she had been shot. She had been on her knees when she killed Robert. She swayed and fell backward, landing flat on her back. Dani was at her side, inspecting the wound. “I’m ok. Shut off the P.A. It’s a fucking locator.” Grace felt sick to her stomach. 

Dani ran to Josh’s desk, bloody knife in her hand. He stood up and backed away, not wanting any trouble. The cabinet was locked. “Keys!” Dani screamed at Josh. He nervously fished through his pockets and produced the key. He laid it on the desk, refusing to hand it to her. He was the smart one here. Dani unlocked the cabinet and had no idea how to shut the system down. She began ripping cord and wires until all the lights on the panel were dead. She did not know if that stopped it, but she could not do anything else other than pound the panel into oblivion. 

She told Josh not to go anywhere. There would be consequences. He nodded, unable to speak with his punctured tongue. He sat down at his desk and waited. 

Dani went back to help Grace. She did not even look at Robert’s body. She helped Grace to sit up. The blonde’s white t-shirt was soaked in blood on one side. The bullet had not exited her upper arm. Dani could not tell how much damage was done. “Let’s get you to the medics.” Dani put her arm around Grace’s waist and helped her down the tunnel. 

Halfway there, Grace’s crew in charge of the drones met them, completely shocked by what they saw. They reported to Dani as she kept Grace moving. They had deployed all three drones, and there was something playing on the P.A. system outside. Dani told them it had been taken care of. She asked them to get word to the monitoring team and send her a full report asap. The two crewmembers nodded and ran the other way. 

“I don’t feel good, Dani.” Grace was starting to stagger more and more. 

“You’ve been shot, amor. It’s not much farther. Let’s keep going.”


	11. Loyal Through Labor

The bullet was extracted without difficulty. It was a small caliber bullet. The shot had missed the bone in Grace’s arm by a fraction of an inch. The medic told her that infection would be her biggest worry now. He stitched the hole shut, wrapped her arm in gauze and let Grace go. He shot her up with penicillin to be on the safe side. 

Dani walked her back to her own room, where Grace could stay for the time being. The Commander’s room was a little more private, and Grace had her own bed there. Dani could keep an eye on her as well. Grace was a little woozy from the painkiller, but said she felt better. 

“I’m not taking any chances, Grace. You’re staying with me.” Dani stayed close to her, making sure the tall blonde did not lose her footing on the way down the residence hall. She helped Grace to sit down once they were inside. 

“Dani, don’t make such a big deal about it. It was only a .22. I’m ok. It doesn’t hurt that much.” 

“You say that now, but it’s going to really hurt tomorrow when the pain meds wear off.” 

“I’m tough.” Grace felt pretty sure of herself in that moment. She’d just taken a bullet for her Commander. Not too many people could say that. 

“I know you are.” Dani’s voice was low and soft now, not so full of authority. Grace liked it when Dani softened around her. Dani helped Grace out of the sling and out of her bloody t-shirt, into a clean top. The air was chilly now, and Dani needed to go do an assessment of the terminator situation outside. She’d been with Grace in the infirmary for well over two hours. No one had come from the monitoring station with a report. Dani unbuttoned Grace’s cargo pants and helped her out of them. Grace opted out of sleep pants, preferring to sleep in her boxer briefs. Grace sat on the edge of Dani’s bed since it was up off the ground. Grace’s bed had been no more than a bedroll with blankets. She liked the simplicity, though she often felt like a guard dog at Dani’s feet. That was fine when she was a child, but now things were different. 

Dani helped Grace lay back in her bed. Grace was shivering. It was cold and the blonde did not have much insulation. Dani pulled her wool blanket up over Grace’s body. She took another blanket from Grace’s bedroll and draped it over her. Dani sat on the edge of her bed looking down at Grace. The blonde had saved her life earlier. Dani knew the gamble was highly risky. Robert could have easily killed one of them or both of them. She ran her fingers softly through Grace’s golden locks, pushing it back out of her eyes. She recalled the nasty things Robert had said about Grace. He was right about one thing, Dani loved her very much. The Commander did not know what to say to Grace. She was a little pissed off that Grace took the risk, but so grateful for her taking action. 

“I’ve never seen you kill anyone.” Grace whispered. Her eyelids drooped as she started to relax into the gentle arms of the opiates. 

“You killed him.” 

“Dani, you ripped his throat apart with a knife. He’d have died whether I shot him or not.” Grace had a point. 

“He’s the second one.” Dani was not proud of this. If there had been any other way, she would have taken it. Even Robert deserved a fair shake. She knew how she felt in the heat of the moment, but Dani always calmed down. She stroked Grace’s cheek, watching the blonde fall asleep. “Rest, my love. I’ll be back later.” Grace nodded sleepily. Commander Ramos leaned over and kissed Grace’s lips. She felt Grace smile against her mouth. Dani pulled the covers up tight around her neck and left Grace to sleep. 

The comms center was full of people watching the monitors. “Report.” Commander Ramos ordered. The two crewmembers from Grace’s team were still there. 

“Shit, Commander. Sorry. We meant to get down there, but,” 

“It’s fine. I was busy. What’s the word now?” Dani shifted from one leg to the other. She was hungry and tired and growing impatient. She also had to wonder who was left in support of Robert Bakas. Surely Josh Alexander could not be the only one. Men like Robert always had a few minions. 

“Since shutting down the locator signal, that’s what we’re calling it, most of the machines have backed off and gone east again. They were looking for people. Since the signal originated here, that’s where they flocked. But with no actual people to terminate, all they did was stand there, waiting, scanning. The drones provided enough of a distraction to draw a lot of them away.” Dwayne Muller, a former first sergeant in the army pointed to the first screen in front of him. “If you’ll look here, ma’am, you’ll see that there are still a few machines out there, watching. We don’t know why. The hive mind usually pulls them all in the same direction.” 

“Smart terminators. Waiting for a trick.” Dani said more to herself than anyone else. 

“That’s what we think. The second we open the doors, they’ll raise Legion and come back with more.” 

“Did the team go out?” 

“Yes, Commander,” Dwayne replied. “They left by the south tunnel, heading toward Texas A&M. We thought, in your absence, to start there before going all the way west to UCLA. Base 3 is sending a team that way instead.” 

“Very good, Sergeant. I want you in charge of this thing for now. Let's get those fucking machines away from the back door. I’ve got people to keep alive. And would someone please start working on the radio?” Dani was losing her patience with humanity’s inability to keep basic services working. She hated the apocalypse. 

Dwayne nodded, sending two techs to go find out what was wrong with the radio. Dani suddenly realized that she had no one here that she could trust except Grace. She was outnumbered by men 10 to 1 easily. Every single man under her command could be plotting to take her position. She had taken for granted that everyone supported her. She stood up straight, determined that this interlude with Robert Bakas was not going to shake her. “Sergeant, what is your official position here?” She needed to get to know more of the people here. 

“I’m your quartermaster/logistics expert. No one else took the job, so I just assumed it.” Dwayne swiveled his chair around to look at Dani. He was in his late 40s maybe. His crew cut hair was showing some gray. He was clean shaven, despite the weather. His clothes were clean and neat. He had a look about him that told Dani he was a straight shooter. She desperately wanted to trust someone. She needed a second in command. “I gathered the recruitment team personally. I showed them who to look for and where, gave them places to stop for supplies and shelter along the way.” 

Dani ran a tired hand across her head, feeling the tightness of her braids. She wanted to take her hair down and rest. She pulled up a chair beside him and talked to First Sergeant Muller well into the night. The first thing they decided was to gather a team in the morning to take out the remaining machines. Dani told him what Grace had said about the air shaft covers needing to be reinforced or replaced. He said he would personally look into that when he went out to dismantle the P.A. speakers. Dani lowered her head, showing obvious weakness, but she didn’t care. She was so tired right then, worried for Grace, sick of the war. She told Muller there was a body in her office. 

“What?” He laughed, not thinking she was serious. 

“Robert Bakas. I think he was here with the Base 3 leaders. Said he was in charge of records there.” 

“That guy with the fucked up face? One of ours beat the hell out of him last year for screwing with you. Same guy?” 

“Yeah,” Dani whispered. She stared straight ahead at the screens, watching the terminators, feeling like they were peering into her soul. “He’s dead on my office floor right now.” 

“Are you ok?” Dwayne turned to face her. Dani looked at him, noting the gentle look in his green eyes. 

“Yeah. Harper took a bullet today. She’s worse off than I am. I’m just tired of this shit, wondering who’s going to attack me next. I seem to worry more about people than I do about the machines outside.” 

Dwayne wanted to offer some kind of comfort but did not want to be viewed as a threat. “The last thing you need is me trying to tell you everything is going to be okay. I won’t even tell you to trust me, Commander, but I’ll do whatever you need to help out around here. There are more people who support you than don’t. Robert Bakas was in the minority.” 

“Are there a lot of people who want me gone?” Dani crossed her arms on the comms desk and rested her head against them. 

“Not as many as you think. Most people just like to talk, thinking they can do everything better. But you got us all here, and we’re relatively safe. We’re alive and we don’t have to run. You did that for us, Commander.” Dwayne’s tone was gentle and sincere. Dani nodded. “If you want, I can get you a list of dissenters.” 

“Then what? We round them up and burn them at the stake?” Dani felt like she was being unfair to her opposition. Even if they did not support her, they were still human. 

“Not at all, Commander. We give them jobs. We make them loyal through labor.” 

“How does that work?” Dani had never heard the term before. 

“The ones with the worst attitudes toward you? We put them to work in positions that benefit the community, like food service, residential building, teaching, involve them in team meetings. Make them a part of everything that goes on here. Every base needs soldiers, but this is more than just a base. This is our home. If they feel like this is their home, they will be less likely to want to tear it apart.” Dwayne was the only person in the last year to make any sense to Dani. He seemed like he was one of the good ones. “I’ll help you if you want, ma’am. I see the good work you’re doing here. I just believe you need some help getting it done. You take too much on your own shoulders.” 

Dani knew he was right, even though the last statement made her a little suspicious. She did not trust easily. “Let’s start simply. Are you working all night?” 

“I’ll be here till the morning rotation comes through.” 

“If there is any change tonight, come and get me. We’ll sort this out in the morning, together.” Dani stood up to leave. Dwayne stood with her, pulling her chair out of the way. 

“Yes, Commander. Rest well.” Dwayne gave her a wide berth, not touching her at all. So many of the men under her command wanted to offer a hand in assistance. It made her really uncomfortable, having to expect uninvited touches all the time. “And if you’ll allow me, I’ll take care of your office.” 

“Oh yeah, thanks. If you would also, I know I'm asking a lot of you right now.” 

“I’m here to help you, Commander, whatever you need.” 

“My assistant? Josh Alexander? Have him clear out and report to sanitation at 0500.” 

Dwayne laughed and nodded at Dani. She winked at him and walked away. 

Dani felt lighter on her feet than she had in years. First Sergeant Dwayne Muller had just taken quite a load off her shoulders. She decided that if his intentions were bad, she’d be forced to make an example out of him publicly. He said things that absolutely made sense about communal living. Everyone needed to feel involved. She knew it was at least worth a try. 

She pulled the curtain shut across the door of her room and tied it closed. Dani’s room was twice as big as any other residence in the mine. Other than being so close to everyone else, it was a nice room. The woman sleeping in her bed was beautiful. Grace had not moved since Dani had been gone. The Commander stripped her clothes off, feeling the chill in the air. She tried not to think about work for a while. 

She slipped the blankets down off of Grace’s body and laid beside her, away from the blonde’s injured arm. Dani began a soft trail of kisses along Grace’s neck, working up to her face, where Dani kissed her cheek and forehead and lips. Grace responded from her sleep, kissing Dani right back. “You’re home.” Grace’s voice was gravelly and tired. 

“I am.” Dani pulled Grace’s shirt up a little bit, running her fingers over the well-defined abs of her new partner. Grace moaned softly, loving the sensation of Dani’s hand on her. She shook off the opiate haze and looked at the Commander, seeing the older brunette was naked. Grace tried to roll on her side to face Dani, but a steady hand on her chest stopped her from moving. “Stay like that.” Grace loved the gentle commands Dani issued. She nodded, keeping her injured arm at her side. 

Dani slipped her leg over Grace’s hips, straddling the blonde warrior. She sank down, feeling her moistening center press against the sleeping giant beneath Grace’s boxers. Dani ground down gently, waking Grace fully. Dani wanted to be fucked hard right now, but she knew the young blonde was in no shape to do it. She reached down between them, trying to push Grace’s underwear down to gain access to her. Grace used her good hand to help out. Dani shifted enough to pull them off completely. She bent down and helped Grace get out of her shirt next. Dani stared down at her lover, taking in the sight of her. “I love you, Grace.” 

The blonde gasped. Dani felt the cock harden between her legs. She slid her hips back and forth along the hot length, feeling it rub against her clit. Grace felt so good this way. Dani leaned down, pressing her breasts against the blonde’s, reveling in the full body contact. Grace slipped her good hand up behind Dani’s head and pulled her in, pressing their lips together. Dani opened her mouth to invite Grace in, feeling the blonde warrior’s tongue immediately between her teeth. Dani welcomed her with a slow and languid kiss. She moved her tongue lazily, softly against Grace’s, causing the blonde to push her hips upward. Without breaking the kiss, Dani reached down and guided Grace’s cock inside of her. She pushed down hard on it, taking the entire length at once. She kissed deeper into Grace’s moan, exploring the warrior’s whole mouth with her tongue. 

In one swift movement, Grace flipped her over onto her back and was laying on top of her. 

“Your arm,” Dani was concerned. 

“Shh.” Grace silenced her with another deep kiss, more passionate and forceful this time. She pushed herself deeper into Dani’s wet center, settling into a comfortable spot. Grace held herself up on her good arm, looking down at the gorgeous brunette. “I love you too, Dani.” Grace began moving her hips, pulling almost all the way out and slowly pushing back in. She rested some of her weight on her knees, which also gave her more power with her hips. “Can I fuck you harder?” Grace asked in between gentle strokes. 

Dani’s breath hitched. “Yes, please, Grace.” She reached up and held Grace’s good shoulder with one hand. She rested the other gently on the blonde’s hip, pulling her in. Grace slammed her cock deep inside of her partner, feeling how tight and wet Dani was. Grace felt the tip of her cock hit Dani’s womb. She stopped to just feel it, how every curve of Dani’s body complimented her. 

“Oh, Dani, goddamn.” Grace was seconds away from losing all control and pounding Dani down into the mattress. She took long deep strokes, pushing hard just at the end when she was buried balls deep. “That feels so fucking good!” Grace began panting. Dani spread her legs wider, angling her hips higher. 

“Harder.” Dani whispered, fucking Grace right back with every single stroke. The blonde let go of her self control and started to hammer away inside of Dani. She was relentless. She pressed a hard kiss against Dani’s mouth, pushing her tongue deep again. Dani accepted everything Grace gave her. Everything Grace was doing, Dani wanted. She felt the blond reach between them with her injured side and begin rubbing her clit softly. Dani groaned and grinded against Grace harder, wanting the blonde to make her come. 

“Turn over,” Grace commanded. Dani loved that authoritative tone. She watched Grace peel herself back, pulling completely out. Dani’s body caved in a little at the loss. Grace stretched her wide open every time. Dani flipped over and got on her hands and knees. Grace kneeled behind her, pushing her cock back inside, getting even deeper this way. It was easier on her arm too. She held Dani by the hips and began to pound her again. Grace was amazed how long she had lasted. Every stroke she took was heaven. She loved the hot velvet skin she sunk into. She loved fucking the Commander and being responsible for the brunette’s orgasms. Grace pushed Dani face down into the mattress and laid right on top of her, thrusting hard and fast. She slipped her good hand underneath Dani’s belly and found her swollen, throbbing clitoris. “Come for me, Daniella.” It did not take Dani long. She did not know Grace had this inside of her. She felt her orgasm move swiftly through her. She pushed her ass hard against Grace’s hips, inviting the blonde to fuck her even harder. 

Grace pumped her hips, grinding against Dani and her own climax washed over her. She let go and felt everything inside of her enter Dani’s body. “Oh God, Dani.” Grace fucked her harder until she had nothing left to give. Grace finally let herself lay down on top of the brunette when her shaking grew too much to bear. Grace was breathless, covering her partner, holding her close. Dani felt amazing in Grace’s care. She could not have asked for a better lover. She laid still and let Grace touch her and caress her skin, dropping soft kisses everywhere. 

Finally, Grace slowed to a near standstill with her touches and kisses, just resting on top of Dani. She slid out of her partner’s body gently, and slipped to the side. Grace pulled the blankets up over them and rested her injured arm across Dani’s back. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.” She whispered as they drifted off to sleep. 

Dani Ramos’s last thought before succumbing to sleep was something like “you can’t promise that.” She wasn’t sure if she said it out loud, but it remained true. What she did know, was that she trusted Grace with her life.


	12. The Bottom of a Mine Shaft

Grace was back on her feet within a few days. Of course, Dani babied her, not letting her do anything for those first few days. Grace wanted to get back to work. The terminators at the south tunnel had been pushed back and sent packing by Commander Ramos’s finest soldiers. There had not been any more trouble, but the watch remained vigil. 

Sergeant Muller had the P.A. system removed entirely and began moving people into appropriate jobs. The atmosphere of Base 1 was tense. That tension needed to be dealt with. Muller had a good idea in creating more public awareness and putting people into socially conscious jobs. He was proving to be a valuable asset to Dani and an ally as well. Rooting out Robert Bakas’s cohorts was not difficult. Dani gave them an opportunity to turn it all around, rather than punishing them for going against her. 

With the gates safe again, Dani was able to open the doors for fresh air. The generators were turned back on and the heat, water, and lights were restored. The recruitment team was still gone, even though Texas A&M was not far away. Commander Ramos hoped they would come back with good news. The university was known for its agricultural, biomedical, and engineering departments. Dani could only wait for the team to return. 

Grace went back to work clearing out parts of the new tunnel. She was responsible for helping create new residential areas. The new tunnel would house the leaders, giving them more private quarters. Grace had a plan to give Dani a nice, big room of her own with an actual door. As it turned out, Grace had a knack for building and planning. If she had not been a soldier, or Judgement Day had not happened, she might have made a great career as an architect. The first day back on the job, however, Grace came home covered in dirt and grime. The wound in her arm was filthy. The bandage was dirty and soaked in sweat. The bullet hole was weeping blood and clear fluid. Dani had told her that night to go take a shower and let her help clean it up. One thing Grace was not known for was taking care of herself very well. She’d forego personal hygiene, food, and rest if she felt she was working on something important. 

Dani woke up on the fifth morning after Grace had been shot, lying next to her blonde lover. The heat coming from Grace’s body was unnatural. It reminded Dani of laying against the augmented Grace on the train through Mexico. She realized then that there was so much she had not told Grace yet. Dani rolled over to face the woman, touching her skin. Grace’s body felt like it was on fire. Dani gently shook her awake. 

“Grace, sit up for me, baby.” Dani helped the blonde to get upright. Grace said she felt sick and that her arm ached. Dani peeled the bandage back and saw the red area surrounding the bullet hole. The wound was weeping a yellow fluid and the stitching was tighter than normal. Grace’s arm was infected. “We have to get you to the med bay, Grace. A doctor needs to deal with this.” 

“It’s fine. I just need to rest. I’ve been working too much lately. I got it dirty. It’s fine.” Grace whispered. She was barely able to keep her eyes open. Dani looked her over and knew she was right about working too much. She should have ordered Grace to stay home another few days. It was too late now. 

“Lay back, Grace. I’ll have someone come down and look at you in a bit.” 

Grace laid back down and was almost instantly asleep again. Dani worried about the fever. That was never a good sign these days. The medic in charge of Grace the other day told her that infection was the worst threat. A lack of antibiotics led to many deaths that could have been easily prevented before the fall of civilization. Dani felt her heart sink into her stomach. She covered Grace up with the blankets and went to the infirmary. The rest of her day would be put on hold until she sorted the blonde warrior out. 

Dani stopped by the quartermaster’s department to speak with Sergeant Muller. He was sitting at a small table, mending a pair of pants. Dani dad did a lot of sewing. It was not a chore men were supposed to be good at or enjoy, but Dani thought it was quite charming to see a man taking such good care of things. Dwayne even had a thimble on his index finger. 

“Where you learn to sew like that?” Dani asked, trying not to sneak up on Muller. He looked up at her and smiled. 

“My mother. She said clothes could always be repaired. There was no need to throw things out because of a little hole.” His words reminded Dani of the hole in her partner’s arm. Grace’s worth was certainly more than a small hole. She nodded and began to tell him what she needed. 

“My...” Dani was unsure what to call Grace at this point. Pretty much everyone knew they were together, but Dani never put a label on it. “Grace, is sick. I need to be there to help her right now. Can you handle things today until I get back?” 

Muller stopped sewing and set the pants down on the table. He stood up to meet her in the center of the room. “What’s happening?” He could see the worry and strain on her face. 

“Where she was shot? It’s infected.” Dani stared at the pair of pants, rather than looking at Muller. “infected” was almost as bad as some of the four-letter words used by boot soldiers. Shallow skin infections were not bad. It was when things went deep into the muscle and tissue that infections became worrisome. 

“What can I do, Commander?” Muller was concerned and happy to help out. Dani gave him a verbal list of things she intended to take care of. She omitted a few things that could be put off. Base 1 would need a fuel run, the water tanks were running low, and one of the generators was acting up. It was basic housekeeping stuff. Muller nodded at her and told her not to worry. 

Dani hated giving up her duties to someone else. She was always paranoid that her job would not be there when she got back. Muller, however, had assured her that he did not want her job, and Dani could not pay him enough to be in charge of the Resistance. She was not sure that made her feel any better, knowing her job as Commander was a shit show. 

The doctor came and went, offering Grace painkillers and sedatives. He informed Dani that there were no more antibiotics on the base. Commander Ramos felt panic set in. Muller had told her that the radio was working again, and that they had contact with the other surrounding bases now. She ordered the doctor to get on the horn and try and find some medicine. 

They moved Grace from Dani’s quarters into the infirmary. The blonde’s fever was not coming down. It had been two more days since the infection began. It was only getting worse. Grace’s arm was turning a dark shade of brown. Dani knew her blood was being poisoned. The swelling between her shoulder and wrist was out of control. The doctor had removed the stitches and reopened the festering bullet hole, allowing it to drain. The smell was becoming putrid. Dani could not let Grace die like this. The young blonde was her partner, for one thing. For another, if the timeline was right, Grace was the soldier fated to become an augmented time traveler who would ultimately save Dani’s life. None of that mattered if Grace died here in the depths of a fucking copper mine. At the bottom of a mine shaft, Dani remembered Grace’s words, hearing them clear as a bell in her head. 

That night was terrible. Grace did not come around like she had in the last few days. She was unresponsive. Dani caught her whispering once, making unintelligible sounds. Mostly, Grace’s lips were moving. But she was not speaking. Dani noticed the blackening in Grace’s fingertips. The blonde’s life was hanging by a thread. Dani could see, under the infirmary lights, the red streaks moving up into Grace’s neck. If the infection reached her brain, it was over for Grace Harper. 

The doctor came back around with absolutely nothing to offer. There were no antibiotics to be had anywhere. Groups had been sent out to search for more, but the likelihood of success was slim. Dani knew that. Not much of an effort would be made, in the dead of winter, for just one soldier. It did not matter what that soldier’s status was, or how important she was to the Commander. One life was not worth risking many. 

Dani sat with Grace, holding her good hand, stroking the back of it. She sang to Grace and told the blonde to hang on. She whispered reassurance and private confessions of love and devotion. She promised Grace everything she could if the warrior would just hold on. 

Grace’s fever spiked again, running up to 105F. The doctor feared that Grace would not live through the night. He could do nothing but try and bring the fever down with ice and cold water. Dani told him to do everything he could. The bullet hole was black as pitch. This wasn’t going to end well. The doctor offered Dani one more solution to save Grace’s life. She could not hear the words he was saying. It was too much. She could not have it. Grace would be destroyed. The doctor informed the Commander that she was going to have to make the choice; and that she’d have to decide within the next hour. 

Dani sat alone with her partner, seething and crying, hating Robert Bakas and all the gods that could let this happen. Grace had not deserved this. Grace deserved to live. Of all people after Judgement Day, Dani believed that Grace Harper deserved to live. Of course, that might mean living a completely different life than the one foretold long ago. Grace’s fate was now in Dani’s hands. 

The doctor came back after the hour was up. It was nearly midnight, on a Saturday, in January. The year was 2033. Augmentation was still a few years away. Dani Ramos made a decision for Grace on that night. Through her own tears and self-doubt, Dani looked up from her constant position beside the wounded warrior. 

“Cut it off.”


	13. The Lost and Found

Dani Ramos had seen a lot in her 27 years. A lot. She had experienced love, joy, anger, grief, the fall of civilization, and the rise of the machines. Dani had killed two men with her own hands and a knife. She was feared, revered, respected. Dani was leading the world out of the rubble and retaking humanity’s seat at the table. She had never been in love before she met Grace. She had not had time for relationships. When Grace appeared in 2022, Dani did not have time then either. Grace’s presence set the whole thing in motion, though. Dani pined and yearned for Grace for 10 long years. She had waited for the most part, only taking a lover when absolutely necessary. Even then, it was a no-strings-attached situation. Dani kept her private life casual. 

Since Grace came of age, Dani did not want anyone else ever again. She knew the possibility of losing Grace in 2042. She had kept that notion locked deep in her heart, knowing she could never adequately prepare herself for it. She would, however, love Grace until that day. With all her heart, Dani would give herself to Grace in every way. It was never even a question. 

She was not sure if she was Grace’s partner that night or the Commander of the Resistance giving the go ahead for dismemberment. She wanted it to be a bad dream. She wanted to wake up next to Grace and tell her all about it, to laugh about it. Dani could not believe how fast the infection spread and took the arm. It was as if everything Dani was doing was in slow motion, and the rest of the world was moving in fast-forward. But she gave the order, her consent. 

The doctors asked Dani to leave for a while. They told her they would send for her when it was over. She had wanted to stay until she saw the bone knife. She felt sick, knowing what it was for. She kissed her sleeping lover goodbye and left. Dani felt terrible, knowing that Grace was alone for the maybe the worst thing her young life had seen. Dani did not go far. She went to her office and poured a drink. She asked her new assistant, Jennifer, to please go find First Sergeant Muller. Dani could use his company for the next couple of hours. 

Dwayne Muller had been off duty for the evening when Jennifer sent him to Dani’s office. He showed up in a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, hoping he wasn’t under dressed. Dani waved him in. He could have been bare naked and Dani would not have cared. She offered him a seat and a drink from her private reserve. He was more than happy to drink with her. The two had become fast friends. Muller knew what was going on with Grace. He was worried too. 

Dwayne Muller shot back his whiskey and Dani promptly poured him another. “I’ve got some good news for you. Probably not as good as you need, but the workers have finished your new room. We can move you in tonight if you like, Commander.” 

“Please, call me Dani when we’re alone.” The Commander spoke without looking at him. She stared into the bottom of her glass. 

“Dani, she’s going to be ok. She will live.” First Sergeant Muller tried to console her. 

“But at what cost?” 

“I know you hate to hear this, but it could have been so much worse.” He did not need to elaborate. 

Dani nodded, knowing he was right. Grace could have died; Dani could have died. “Is there any word from the recruitment team?” 

“Not a word, Dani. But we have heard from Base 2. Their team made it to UCLA, and they found a few people that meet your requirements. Mostly agriculture and electrical engineering. We might be very close to that new power source.” 

It was good news. It was the best news Dani had heard lately. She passed the next bit of time making small talk with Dwayne. He was a nice guy. He’d been married once, no kids. He served in the army for almost 20 years before Judgement Day. Everything just fell apart and he ended up at Base 1 by accident. He saw the needs of the base, so he decided to stay on rather than going to Corpus Christie. He really liked working with Dani, setting up a new home, and everything that entailed. Fighting the machines, Dwayne said, took more than just muscle and bullets. It required people to stop running, even if it meant living underground. He liked that Dani’s mentality was to take a stand, no matter where they were. 

Dwayne was always good for moral support. Dani really appreciated him. She poured them another drink as they waited. She really did not know what to say at that point. Dwayne let her be silent. He offered her no more than his company. 

The knock on her office door was light and quick. Dani was on her feet in split second. A medic stood outside her door, looking tired but hopeful. “She’s out of surgery, if you want to come down.” 

Dani looked at Dwayne, feeling slightly guilty about leaving him. He waved her off and locked her office behind him when he went home. Dani’s feet barely hit the tunnel floor on her way to the infirmary. She was excited, elated, and terrified. 

As she entered the room, she could not see Grace anywhere. She was confused. The medic finally caught up with her. “This way, Commander.” She followed the tired medic to the back of the bay. She felt Grace before she saw her. Dani’s heart began to hammer in her chest. The medic drew back a curtain, revealing a doctor in a mask, injecting something from a needle into an IV line. The line was connected to a single body, blonde hair, and white as a ghost. Dani pushed her way past the doctor to stand at Grace’s side. The soldier was still unconscious. She was naked, at least from the waist up. There was an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. She was hooked up to a heart monitor that was ringing out the blonde’s rhythm. Grace was covered in a dark wool blanket. Her shoulder was bandaged in thick, white gauze. 

The doctor took Dani by the arm and pulled her away. “I just want to tell you what we did.” He whispered. Dani did not look at him, but was listening intently. “We severed her arm just below the shoulder. It’s called a transhumeral amputation. Part of her upper arm is still intact. We did not take more than we had to.” His voice was calm and clear. Dani could not help but think they’d left a stump. She couldn’t handle the idea. “Harper’s temperature is normalizing. Her body, we believe, will be able to fight off whatever is left of the infection. Commander, everything went as well as it could. I’ve done hundreds of amputations, some people don’t make it, but I’m almost certain she will.” He handed Dani the clipboard containing Grace’s chart. Dani flipped through the pages, seeing what they had done. She nodded and thanked him, without really even being there. Dani’s heart and mind were focused solely on Grace. 

The blonde warrior began to moan softly. The doctor stepped back and let Dani go to her. Dani stood beside Grace, holding her hand. She rubbed Grace’s chest gently. “I’m here, amor. It’s ok.” Dani whispered softly to her lover. “Come back to me.” The doctor pulled the curtain around them, giving the women some privacy. 

“My fingers hurt.” Those were Grace’s first words on the subject. “Dani, what’s happening?” 

“Just relax, try and wake up. Don’t move. I’ll explain everything.” Dani continued to coax Grace awke, squeezing her fingers and stroking her chest. Dani leaned in and kissed Grace softly. “I’m right here, sweetheart.” 

Grace’s eyes snapped open. The pools of blue were tempestuous cyclones of emotion. Grace’s terror was written all over her face. Dani held her hand as Grace looked down to where her right arm should have been. “What the?.. Dani?” The Commander could hear the panic in Grace’s voice. 

“Shhh. Grace. They had to take it off.” Dani was trying to remain calm, even though Grace was starting to freak out. 

“What? No! NO! NO! NO! Dani! NO!” Grace was screaming, reaching to touch the remaining part of her arm. A doctor appeared with a needle full of a sedative. Dani stopped him before he could administer it. 

“She needs to feel this. Let her.” Dani ordered him away. Grace cried and hyperventilated. Her fucking arm was missing. Her arm. Not a finger or maybe her hand. Her fucking arm was gone. “Grace, the infection was going to kill you.” 

“I’d rather be dead!” Grace sobbed. The realization was starting to come to her, as the anesthetic began to wear off. 

“You don’t mean that. I know you don’t.” 

“Who authorized this?” Grace accused everyone under the sun of doing this to her. 

“I did, my love. I did it to save your life.” Dani moved in close again as Grace began to calm down a bit more. 

Grace turned her head and looked at Dani as if she were the devil himself. “You had no right.” 

Dani nodded, taking the shot to her heart. She did not argue with Grace. This was all part of losing a limb. Grace had every right to be upset, furious even. Dani stood beside her anyway. She would take whatever abuse Grace needed to give her. The blonde looked over at her shoulder again. How was she supposed to fight now? Her days as Dani’s protector were over, thanks to the fucking Commander. Dani stood beside her, afraid to touch her for fear of angering her further. But she was not about to leave. Grace cried again, touching the remaining part of her arm. Dani would explain this to her more when she calmed down. The Commander took a seat beside Grace’s bed and let the young blonde cry herself to sleep. 

For the next couple of weeks, Grace got used to doing everything with one hand. Her major complaint was that she was not left-handed, so everything was awkward. She’d given up on being mad at Dani about everything. After the initial shock of the amputation left her, Grace understood why Dani did it. She was grateful to be alive, even if it meant she would never fight again. 

Getting dressed in the morning was hard at first. Grace was determined to make it happen though. She stayed with Dani in their new room, which was three times the size of the old one. Grace had built it for them, hoping she would get to share it with Dani sometimes. The Commander had decided as soon as she moved in that the room was also Grace’s. As Grace sat at the edge of the bed, trying to button her shirt with one awkward hand, Dani would try to step in and do it for her. 

Sometimes Grace would get frustrated and yell at her, “goddammit, Dani! I can do it.” Dani would back off and let Grace be stubborn. Grace had to stop wearing boots in favor of a pair of slip-on tennis shoes. She felt so fucking weak. It was something she knew she would have to get used to. This was her life now. Grace opted for long sleeves now, and just tucked the right sleeve into her pants pocket. She thought it gave people the impression that there was still an arm there. It kept people from staring, at least. She did not have a job anymore that she could do with one arm. Grace mostly wandered through the tunnels exploring when she wasn’t in bed reading. This was not the life she wanted, but it was the one she got. She told herself to accept it and keep going. 

At night, Grace started sleeping on her back, letting Dani take her spot on the left, under Grace’s arm. She still felt the need to protect Dani, and that was the only way she could hold her. It wasn’t ideal by any means. Their lovemaking took an unexpected turn for the nonexistent. Grace lost interest in sex. She told Dani it was hard enough being intersex, but now she was not whole. Dani argued with her for the sake of the blonde’s pride, but Grace would not have it. She still loved Dani fiercely, but her sex drive was diminished. A few times, she allowed Dani to try and arouse her, but Grace’s body would not respond, even to Dani’s best tricks. All they could do was hope that things would get better. The truth was, Grace felt like a total failure. She could not give Dani anything she needed anymore. The Commander assured her that was not true at all, but she could not change Grace’s mind. 

The day the trucks rolled in, Grace was on her way back from the mess area. She was getting ready to go find another book from the small library in the common area when the south tunnel opened up. A long line of old military vehicles filed in. Dani was at her side suddenly, out of nowhere. “What’s all this?” Grace asked, chewing on a piece of jerky. 

“This is the recruitment team from UCLA. They came here because we have the most space.” Dani put her hand in Grace’s lower back, silently asking the blonde to join her. The leader of Base 2 was getting out the first truck, eager to meet with Dani. “Commander, we have more than anyone could have asked for!” He was so excited. There were easily a hundred new people arriving. The leader, Damian, told her that UCLA was a goldmine. They found agricultural specialists, medical professionals, physicists, engineers, soldiers, drinking water specialists. He told Dani to name it, the recruitment team had found it. They would start a food lab, producing better quality foods with the improvements of water and lighting. They had a group of physicians and medics that were working on some really cool things these days. Damian told her that the science division at UCLA was looking for a place to be most useful, so why not with a forward military base? Dani looked at him. They had just hit the jackpot. 

“Who’s in charge of this dump?” The woman’s voice was familiar. Dani did a double take. Getting out of the fourth truck in the convoy was someone she had not seen since before the war. She’d recognize that head of gray hair and those aviator sunglasses anywhere. 

“Sarah,” Dani whispered. She took off running toward the older woman, who was easily in her seventies now. Grace stood still and watched Dani run. “Sarah!” Dani yelled. Sarah turned to her and laughed. 

“I fucking knew it!” The women hugged each other for a long time. Grace felt a little jealous. She’d heard the stories of Sarah Connor. She had disappeared right before the bombs dropped. Dani had told Grace that Sarah was probably dead. The woman walked with a cane. “They told me there was a base up this way and some cute little Latina babe was running everything!” 

Dani brought Sarah over to meet Grace. The older woman looked up at the blonde tower before her. “Holy shit, it’s you.” Dani nudged Sarah gently, hoping she would not say more. Sarah stuck out her left hand to shake Grace’s, suddenly realizing that there was no right hand coming for her. Grace did the next right thing and took Sarah’s hand with her left. 

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Sarah.” Grace heard the stories about the smartass older woman. This was Dani’s best friend before the war. Grace would not stand in between that. “It’s nice to meet you. Dani, I’m going to go help everyone.” 

“Ok, Grace. I’ll see you at home?” Dani held Grace’s hip, looking up at her. Grace nodded to her, bent her head and swiped a quick kiss. Grace’s best defense against her depression was to keep busy. She might not be able to lift things, but Grace was good with inventory, and it looked like this crew had brought a lot of supplies and equipment with them. There were at least 15 trucks in the bay right now, and another ten waiting outside. 

“Dani? What the fuck happened to her?” Sarah asked as soon as the blonde was out of ear shot. 

“Infection. It literally just happened.” Dani shook her head. She could not believe Sarah was here. 

“Does she know?” Sarah was, of course, talking about the future. Dani looked at the blonde warrior, who was already in the middle of things. She shook her head. 

“No, and now I don’t even know what will happen. This was fucked up. And for that matter, Sarah, where the fuck have you been?” Dani smiled at the older woman, clearly happy to have her back. 

“You know me, I just hunkered down till the dust settled. Then I made my way to L.A. to look up an old friend. 

“Anyone I know?” Dani asked, looking at the new arrivals. There were a lot of women. Dani liked this very much. She did not feel so outnumbered all of a sudden. 

“Who knows? She’s been everywhere.” As the women stood together, watching the crews unload, watching trucks head down into the depths of the mines, Sarah looked at Grace, a little bit sad. “You should know something. We brought some really cool fucking shit with us. Grace is going to be amazed. And that power source you were after?” 

Dani looked at Sarah, hopeful. “Yeah? Did you find something?” 

“Oh yeah. Don’t I always?" Sarah waved to a woman beside the trucks. She walked over to where they were standing, a tallish woman in her mid fifties or so, long brown hair, green eyes. "Hey, Anne," Sarah said, "do you have that reactor?"


	14. Improvements

Base 1 became a hotbed of human activity as spring brought warmer weather. The word was out. Base 1 had the best food, the best weapons, the best training, the most space, and the Commander lived there. Anyone wanting to get into the fight against Legion showed up at Base 1. Not everyone could stay there, however. Space was limited. Dani Ramos watched her group of just over a hundred souls turn into a Resistance city of a thousand people. New tunnels were constantly under construction to accommodate everyone. UCLA’s science division had brought its own crowd. Dani was thankful for the brains that came through her doors. Finally, she thought, they might win this war. 

Sarah Connor spent much of her time in logistics and communications. Her fighting days were physically finished, but her mind was ever sharp. She led the ground crews through heavy fire areas. Her extensive knowledge of the Southwest United States was invaluable, getting things from one place to another. She knew every city. She knew where to find things. She still had contacts roaming around who were able to help them at every turn. She used her experience with Skynet to continually thwart Legion’s advances. Of course, Sarah did not get along with everyone. She had a mean streak as long as the south tunnel. Most of the logistics team thought she was too bold in her advances against the machines. She would yell at them like a group of children, asking if we should just go back to hiding in our holes while the terminators ran the world. Dani had several complaints about Sarah in the beginning, but Sarah’s tactics always panned out in the end. Sarah Connor was a master strategist. 

Sarah was clever and witty. She made several one-armed bandit jokes at Grace’s expense. The blonde was beyond having her feelings hurt. She’d even made several jokes about having to “hand” it to Sarah for being hilarious. Dani watched the two bicker and argue, joke and laugh at each other. They were both incredibly smart and seemed to get along for the most part. In their spare time, Dani would catch them playing chess on the little board she’d had made for Grace’s graduation. The blonde had brought it down to the common area. She and Sarah had an ongoing match. Every day, they would pass through the area on their way somewhere else. Dani caught Sarah staring at the board more than once, trying to outfox Grace. They’d move their piece and move on. Grace had left a note to everyone to please leave the board alone as there was a game in progress. One time, when Grace felt like Sarah had the upper hand, she stole Sarah’s queen for two days. 

Sarah threatened to kick Grace’s ass. Grace welcomed the challenge like usual, telling Sarah she’d beat her with one arm tied behind her back. Dani could not make this shit up. 

The diesel generators were dismantled and removed, making way for more advanced technology. Sarah had brought a small nuclear reactor to Base 1. It was so small, it fit inside a shoulder bag. Sarah assured Dani that it was completely safe, and that Base 1 would not become another 3 Mile Island. The reactor was powerful enough to run all of the local bases together. Underground lines were created to connect the new Resistance strongholds. Miles and miles of wire were buried one foot at a time on the surface. Legion would try to pick it apart, and humans would lay it all back down. Along with the power grid, communications between the bases was vastly improved with fiber optics. Radio towers were being built every week, lengthening the distances between Resistance outposts. 

Bases 3 and 4 were repurposed as underground garages. New, more efficient, and far more advanced military craft were being manufactured there. Aircraft with ion drive engines were built. Transports and attack vehicles were manufactured to give humanity every edge against the machines. Most of the tech was stolen directly from Legion, but no one was keeping score. 

The techs from UCLA brought newly developed computer hardware, software that bordered on science fiction. Dani was hesitant about computers and advanced technology, given what they were fighting. She knew that the processing power of computers would help the techs run the radars, track Legion’s movements, and keep the Resistance connected. It just felt sometimes like they were repeating history. 

Grace spent a lot of her time working in the food lab. It was not physically demanding, and she was learning a great deal about how algae, seaweed, and soy could provide humans with many of the nutrients they needed to survive. She worked with a produce farmer, growing vegetables in small gardens hydroponically. The produce grew fast that way, and the food lab was able to provide things like green peppers, tomatoes, carrots and even things like strawberries to the people of Base 1. In Grace’s opinion, it was a vast improvement over that second year alone, eating rats and bugs to stay alive. 

The best thing, by far, to come from the UCLA movement, were the medical developments. Medicines were getting better. Antibiotics were manufactured faster. Of course, it was all a bit late for Grace, but future generations need not go through such barbaric treatments. And that was how Grace learned to look at it. Anything was an improvement. Medicines were not the only things being elevated. There was an entire division devoted to helping the wounded and maimed, just like Grace. A single tech working in the prosthetics division had come up with a series of designs that would allow lost limbs, fingers, toes, etc. to be replaced with mechanical versions. Legion had provided them with a superior bodily design. 

An anthropologist at Berkeley had teamed up with the prosthetics department. Human physical structures were decidedly inefficient. Our bodies were not properly evolved to carry our weight. Human spines were built to carry us on all four limbs. When humans stood up millions of years ago, our bodies never really evolved to be completely efficient. Legion’s designs of the Rev 2s and 3s were brilliant. And the UCLA techs copied those designs. They built prosthetic limbs from carbon fiber and titanium, which was lightweight and strong as hell. 

One afternoon, Grace was invited to the prosthetics department at Dani’s urging. They were more than happy to help. Given Grace’s age, her preferred profession as a soldier, and her particular injury, the techs were excited to draw up plans right then and there. The design was very cool to Grace. It called for the replacement of her entire right shoulder, arm, and hand. There was some simple wiring that run through the limb, giving her sensation of touch, temperature, and of course, strength. The wiring would be linked to a chip implanted in the back of her neck. The surgery would be lengthy and invasive, but Grace was 100% on board with it. The techs made her a copy of the design to take to Dani. 

Dani Ramos was getting ready for bed one night, grateful for the extra space and privacy of the new room. She had a private bathroom built onto the room that spring. She was tired of showering in public. Being the Commander had its perks. She was just out of the shower when a very animated, very excited Grace burst through their door. 

“Holy shit, Dani, you’ve got to see this!” Grace was almost yelling. Dani had not seen Grace this excited about anything. She had certainly not seen the warrior so invigorated since her amputation. She pulled Dani down next to her on the old couch (looted from a nearby housing development in San Antonio) and showed her the design. 

“So, they will do this for you?” Dani knew they would. It had been her idea for the techs to come up with something to restore the love of her life. Dani played dumb, letting Grace think she had stumbled upon this by herself. She knew that Grace needed to find her own way, and she’d never have forgiven Dani for setting her up. 

“Yeah, and they said, they can do it just as soon as the prosthetic is ready to go. The wiring and the chip are the easy part. I have to be measured and everything first. It’s a completely personal thing. This will be my arm, like the original, but stronger and better.” 

Dani was happy to see her partner’s excitement over something. The spark in Grace’s eyes was back. That was all Dani ever wanted; for Grace to be happy again. Grace went on to tell her that with this new arm, she’d be able to fight again, work again, and feel whole. That was the most important thing. Grace needed to feel whole again. 

Dani turned to Grace, staring deep into her azure colored eyes, loving the way they smiled at her. The blonde warrior wrapped her arm around Dani and pulled her into a fiery kiss. The passion in Grace that night stirred Dani’s arousal immediately. The Commander held Grace’s face in her hands, deepening the kiss, finding Grace’s soft tongue with her own. Dani let the emotion in her swell to the surface and roll down her cheeks. “Grace,” she whispered, closing her eyes, pressing her forehead to the blonde’s. 

“I know, Daniella. I missed you too.” Grace pulled back and held Dani’s hand in hers. She guided the brunette’s hand into her lap, up the expanse of her thigh, to a more private spot. Grace throbbed and gasped suddenly at the heat of Dani’s palm on her bulge. Dani gazed at Grace. For the first time in months, the blonde warrior was responding physically to Dani’s touch. She was not about to let this moment pass them up. 

Dani massaged Grace’s length to full hardness. She pushed the blonde backward on the bed and instigated sex. Grace let Dani undress her completely without making a fuss. Dani stripped down to nothing and pressed her body into Grace’s side. They had not been completely naked together in so long, Dani was not even sure this moment was real. Grace wrapped her arm around her partner and held her tightly. Dani gently ran her fingertips across Grace’s pale skin, over her belly, across both breasts. Grace even let Dani touch her right arm. That was taboo between them this entire time. Grace did not like Dani looking at her, let alone touching her there. This night, Grace gave in and let Dani familiarize herself with it. To Dani, the skin felt alien. The half arm did not belong there. It was temporary. 

Dani straddled Grace’s hips and slid the blonde’s cock home. “Welcome back, amor.” Dani whispered, pulling her hair out of the braid she wore so tightly all day. Her long black hair cascaded down around her shoulders. The sight of the beautiful Commander above her excited Grace. She started breathing harder, feeling her heart pound with desire and love for Dani. She reached out and held Dani’s hip, as the brunette started their love rhythm. She rode Grace slowly, gently, taking her time with the blonde. She professed her love for Grace, telling her that she only wanted her to feel good again. 

They made love several times throughout the night, each time bringing themselves closer to one another. Grace felt like she had been somewhere else for too long. Dani was just happy to have her back.


	15. Tough as Nails

The design for Grace’s new arm was pretty slick. It would require an entire shoulder replacement; which Grace was willing to do. The arm itself was matte black, lined with sensor material, allowing Grace to have full sensation of touch. It would be different than the touch she experienced with her natural left arm. The sensor material would send a signal to her brain that she was touching something, but the techs told her it would not be the same as skin. As for skin, the technology was subpar to reproduce living tissue over the prosthetic. Essentially, Grace would have a fully mechanical limb. It would function in every way that her natural arm would. It mostly looked like a regular arm without flesh. The appearance of muscle and tissue was there, at least in thickness. The feel of it was something else. It was entirely metal. There were four fingers and a thumb on the hand. The forearm was comprised of a radius and ulna, elbow, and fully functional wrist assembly. She would be able to twist and move just like normal. The arm did not resemble a skeletal arm at all. It had its own skin, the sensor material. The techs tried to produce skin tones for it, but the material responded best in black or silver for some reason. 

The shoulder piece would replace hers. Wires would run up through the joint into her neck and into the chip that would be implanted at the base of her skull. The chip would manage the signals from her brain that told her new limb to move. It would not interfere in her human thinking. It was more than just a simple relay, however. The chip would monitor Grace’s temperature and pulse, and the arm would respond in kind by staying warm and keeping a pulse. 

The shoulder frame would be bolted to her clavicle and her existing shoulder blade. Her own muscles would be attached to a soft mesh of artificial muscles and tendons that would allow the arm to be moved. The point where the organic and the mechanical fused was cloudy to Grace. She decided that the techs knew best. The surgery would take several hours. Physical therapy would take weeks or months, depending on her response to the arm. Grace would have to learn how to use her arm all over again. She would have to retrain herself on basic motor skills. 

Grace believed the work would be well worth it, if she could fight again and hold Dani again the way she felt she was meant to. She believed this would make her whole again, at least as far as the technology would allow. It was better than what she currently had, which was an empty sleeve and deep frustrations. 

The arm was manufactured in about 30 days from the day they took all of Grace’s measurements. The wait was unbelievably long. However, the techs did send for her one afternoon to set up the surgery. Dani walked down to the lab with Grace that afternoon. The tunnel was new, devoted entirely to the new prosthetics wing. Every time Dani walked down this tunnel; she was reminded that this is where augmentation was beginning. She often wondered how Grace would fare in the augmentation program with a prosthetic limb. Certainly, it would not be a problem in a few years. She never considered that the warrior’s right arm could have been entirely artificial in 2022. Perhaps the development of skin had become good enough to provide Grace with a sleeve, marked up with fake scars to match the rest. Dani didn’t know, and the she thought about it, the stupider she felt. 

Grace held Dani’s hand, flexing her fingers in between Dani’s. She could barely contain her excitement. She was ready to move on from being a disabled, former soldier. Grace was ready to get back into the action. The war with Legion was ramping up on all fronts. Bases 3 and 4 were churning out new vehicles every month that enhanced the Resistance’s ability to strike hard against the machines. There were new weapons being manufactured from the remainder of humanity’s nuclear power plants. Legion was beginning to build better terminators, impervious to conventional bullets. Gun powder was no longer king. Spent uranium shells were now the standard in beating back Legion. 

Dani stopped her right outside the prosthetics lab. The walls of the lab were clear glass from floor to ceiling. The inside of the lab was in plain view. This design was done to capture all ambient lighting, wasting nothing. Plus, the division had nothing to hide. There were several mock ups of artificial limbs, all attached to rubber dummy humans. In the dark, this room would be creepy to walk into. Dani caught herself staring at the replica of what Grace’s arm would look like on her body. It made her shudder to think about what Grace would have to endure to that end. 

The Commander stepped close to the blonde, wrapping her arms around Grace’s waist. “This is not going to be a one day thing, you know?” Dani was warning Grace that the path ahead would be slow and probably painful. 

“I know, but I want this. I want to fight again.” Grace knew that her true purpose in the Resistance was as a soldier. She felt most comfortable in combat. “The arm is designed to withstand a lot of combat abuse. It’s virtually fool-proof, Dani.” Grace laid her left hand on Dani’s shoulder, squeezing softly. She just wanted Dani to know she knew what she was getting herself into. 

“If you’re sure, my love.” Dani felt pangs of anxiety in her chest. She wasn’t sure why she was so worried about this decision. It was all on Grace. Dani felt bad about this because she had authorized the amputehis because she had authorized the amputation in the first place. She did not have a choice. She was sure of that. Grace had forgiven her long ago. 

The deep amber eyes that Grace found herself lost in stared back intently. The blonde was imbued with love for Dani Ramos in that single moment. She reached up and ran her fingers absentmindedly over a tight, black braid, tickling Dani’s scalp in the process. “Come on, Commander, let’s get this going.” Grace led her into the lab. Dani held her hand, trailing slightly behind, noting the confidence and swagger in Grace’s walk. 

The surgery was set and the day came. Dani waited impatiently in the recovery area for Grace to come out. The procedure took over 11 hours. Dani did not sit there the whole time. Mostly she paced the tunnel. She found Sarah at one point and shared a meal with her. Sarah told her not to worry. The Grace that Sarah remembered was tough as nails. Dani knew she was right, but it did not curb her worry much at all. She had seen the blonde warrior in the hospital or injured too many damn times in the woman’s short life. Dani could not handle the idea of losing her now, not when restoration to her body was finally within reach. 

Dani resigned herself to just not working that day. First Sergeant Muller provided her ample cover during times like this. He had understood, better than anyone, that while humanity’s success over the machines was always on Dani’s front burner; she was also in love. He had told her one day that her feelings for Grace outweighed her feelings for the human race, and that was ok. If there were no relationships like hers and Grace’s left, there was nothing really worth fighting for. Love, Dwayne Muller told her, was the only reason to keep fighting. She wished she had a hundred like him. 

When they wheeled Grace out of the operating room, Dani’s heart nearly burst. Grace was not bandaged at all. She was naked from the waist down, uncovered. Dani could not even breathe. Grace looked so pale and fragile, with one exception: the new arm. The blonde’s skin ended just midway between her neck and shoulder, where the black expanse began. The arm itself was bent over Grace’s abdomen, cradling her like a motherly machine. It was unnatural to look at. The mock-up in the other room did not do it justice. Dani admitted, that even though it was scary and alien to look at, Grace’s physical strength had just been enhanced. Enhanced. Dani hated that word. In this case, it was the lieteral truth. 

Grace was beginning to come around with the administration of some oxygen via a non-rebreather mask. Dani stood over her, watching the warrior’s eyes start to open. Grace blinked several times as she started to wake up, trying to focus on the shadow in front of her. She already knew who it was. She could smell Dani’s hair oil a mile away. Jasmine. Grace loved it. The soft fingers on Grace’s left arm were heaven, like being led into sweet oblivion by the touch of an angel. Dani’s voice in the in-between guided her back home. “Grace, wake up. It’s over.” 

Several techs stood with Dani, waiting for Grace to come to. They all urged her to lay still and go slow. The last thing she needed to do was panic and break the brand new connections inside of her body. Even though the wiring, bolts, and mesh were completely solid, there was always a risk of tearing something in those early days. Grace asked for some water. Dani nodded to a tech to please get some. 

Dani held a cup in one hand, Grace’s head gently in the other, helping the blonde to get a drink. Grace tensed her body and held the position after Dani’s hands left her. Grace pulled herself to a sitting position, finally ready to acknowledge how the surgery had left her. The techs told her to go slow, and just think about what she wanted her arm to do. Before, it never required any thought. If Grace wanted to pick something up, she just did it. If she wanted to touch Dani, she just did it. This was hard. Grace sat and looked at the black piece of equipment now attached to her body. She gazed at the hand in her lap, limp and unmoving. She thought about flexing her bicep and when she did, the fingers twitched. She willed herself to make a fist. The hand responded, slowly at first, but quicker each subsequent time she thought about it. 

They asked her to lift her arm as high as she could. Grace held her arm out straight in front of her and began to exhibit signs of strain. It was a lot harder than it looked, but she was doing it. Dani pressed her hands to her lips and bit back a cry of joy. She could get used to looking at the stolen Legion design if it meant her partner got a new lease on life. The techs told her to take it easy for now, and not try to do anything more strenuous than move her fingers. She needed to rest and heal the connections inside her body. The physicians flocked around, taking Grace’s vitals. They were amazed how they could get accurate readings of her pulse and temperature from the arm. Dani pressed her own hand into Grace’s prosthetic. She couldn’t believe it. The fucking thing was warm. She tested the radial pulse point at the wrist and shook her head. There was a heartbeat inside of it. Of course it was not real, but if she closed her eyes, she’d never know the difference. 

Dani jerked her head toward Grace, staring at her in disbelief. The Commander’s eyes told Grace that this was incredible. Dani held the pulse point and breathed hard. The blonde was amazed by the whole situation. She flexed her shoulder, feeling the entire assembly move, a little painfully, in a circle. She would have full range of motion in a few days, they told her. She brought the new arm up slowly, reached out carefully, using her entire conscious mind to control everything, and touched Dani’s cheek as delicately as she could. 

Dani felt strange, being touched this way. It was Grace, and it was a machine. It was a chip that was dictating... no, she told herself, Grace was dictating the movements. The chip was just relaying the messages. Apparently, Dani’s facial expression was less welcoming than Grace had anticipated. The young blonde withdrew and dropped her eyes into her lap. “I’m sorry, Dani.” The Commander watched the intense emotions overwhelm the young warrior and felt terrible for reacting so poorly. Dani took a visible step away, which conveniently allowed the ranking tech to step in. He began asking Grace all kinds of questions about how it felt, if she could feel his touch when he reached out. Grace smiled and said yes, everything was good, except it her shoulder was really starting to hurt. After a few more preliminary tests to make sure the arm was functioning properly, the doctor administered a painkiller and ordered Grace to try and sleep. Rest was what was needed to form the new connections in her body. 

Dani waited for the team to depart, leaving her alone with Grace finally. Dani stepped up beside her and sat next to her, on Grace’s left side. She pulled the hospital blanket up over the blonde’s naked chest, feeling bad about how exposed her partner had been through all of it. Grace did not make eye contact with her. She just whispered, “you don’t like it.” 

Dani felt her heart break a little bit. “It’s not that, Grace. It’s just different. I’m not used to it. Honestly, I’ve spent years fighting unnatural things with a similar design. I wasn’t prepared for it like I thought I would be.” She was trying to tell Grace the truth, even if she couldn’t spare the blonde’s feelings. 

“Unnatural,” Grace whispered, still staring at the machine hand in her lap. “It is.” Dani watched her companion lay back against the crappy hospital pillow and disappear into sleep. 

This had been Dani’s idea from its inception. She had actually helped, in secret with the design, thinking it would instill Grace with some confidence. The arm looked pretty intimidating. It was exactly what Dani had asked for. The procedure was beyond her wildest dreams. The feel of the artificial fingers on her cheek made her blood run cold, no matter who was on the other end of those fingers. Dani had ushered in a new era of physical human enhancements in the Resistance, as it was foretold by Grace in 2022. And at the same time, Dani was devastated by it all. She likened herself to a broken messiah. She carried the torch and recited the knowledge, but her soul remained fractured in the face of fate.


	16. Control

Physical therapy was rough in the beginning. Grace had to relearn how to use her arm again. She thought it would be easier than it was. Simple tasks such as picking things up were incredibly difficult at first. The techs would drop paperclips and pencils on the floor and have her reach down and pick them up one at a time. She was learning how to use her new fingers without crushing objects. The arm was stronger than her natural one. Grace had to learn how to be easy with it, learning the different sensations for different pressures. She learned how to be gentle when the techs sent her through the tunnels replacing light bulbs. Grace broke several of them before figuring out how to hold them gently while taking them out and putting them in. They told her, if she could do that, she could do anything. The motion of screwing a lightbulb in took a lot of coordination and finesse, which after a couple of days she had mastered. 

Her grip could crush a man’s throat, the techs told her. Her punch was something to be feared. Once the fine motor skills tasks were completed and Grace felt comfortable, the techs took her to the gym. The heavy bag had always been Grace’s favorite thing. She liked boxing and sparring, but mostly the bag presented a way for her to alleviate her frustrations. Even before her arm replacement, with only her left, Grace would tackle the bag whenever she could. 

The tech stood behind the bag, holding it steady for her. He instructed her to go slow and build up to stronger punches. The first punch she took with her right arm sent the tech staggering backward. 

“Hey! I said go easy!” He complained, repositioning himself against the bag. 

“That WAS easy,” she told him. If that was a gentle punch, Grace wondered what one at full strength would look like. “Move.” She motioned for him to step out of the way. He took several steps to the side, watching her with great curiosity. She glanced at him, cocked her arm back and let it fly. The material of the heavy bag split open, sand flew everywhere. The chain connecting it to the ceiling of the gym broke and the bag fell to the floor a few feet away. The strength of the punch had essentially caused the bag to explode on contact. Grace laughed, looked at the tech who was shaking his head, “that wasn’t even the hardest I can punch!” She was just as amazed as he was. If her arm was this strong on a simple sand bag, then she wondered how it would fare against a terminator. Grace could not wait to get back into combat. 

After her physical therapy session that day, Grace sat in the locker room alone. She showered and changed into a tank top and pants. She had been really excited to see Dani later for dinner and downtime. They had been working hard lately and had not had much time together. Dani was pulling the night shift at the command center with Sarah and Dwayne most nights. Everyone had their rotation, and Dani was no exception. She could have taken herself off the duty roster, but she felt like her exclusion made her a target for dissent and opposition. Dani also started going out on missions with the other soldiers. Grace did not like it, especially since she wasn’t cleared medically to go out yet. Grace was lacing her boots on the locker room bench when several young recruits walked through. They did not stop to say anything to her, but she could hear them talking. 

“That fucking thing is just weird.” 

“Yeah, like someone pulled off a terminator’s arm and said ‘here ya go!’” 

They were not even trying to be quiet, and Grace knew what they were talking about. She felt self-conscious enough about how unnatural the arm was. Dani’s first reaction in the infirmary was enough to plant that seed. Grace hurried with her boots, trying to get out of there as fast as she could. One of the recruits came around the side of the lockers, leaned against the cool metal doors, and stared at her. 

“Sorry,” he began, “we’ve just never seen Legion hardware on a human.” The other two recruits moved in beside him. 

“It’s not Legion. The lab techs made it.” Grace huffed. 

“Yeah? It looks like your mom fucked a machine.” The first recruit taunted her. These boys were itching for a fight, and Grace was about two seconds away from giving them one. 

She stood up, pulled her uniform shirt over her tank top, and glared at the boys. She felt her anger rising up, but willed herself to control it. She took two steps toward them, watching all three recruits back off. Grace was much taller than any one of the boys, leaner and twice as smart. She half lunged at them, pulling her right arm back to strike, making the three of them cower. Grace relaxed and laughed. “Maybe she did, but I'll always be better than you.” She whispered as she walked out. 

“Hey! Do you have different attachments that you use on the Commander?” 

Grace stopped dead in her tracks, turned and marched right back to the boys. They were no older than she was when she joined the Resistance. All of them were covered in acne and patchy facial hair. Boys trying so hard to be men. They were boys thrust into impossible situations by machines. Grace almost understood their fear and anger at her arm. She grabbed the first boy by his throat and shoved him against the wall. Grace stared him down as her grip tightened around his wind pipe. She knew she could rip his throat out if he really pushed her. “Want to find out what I can really do with this thing?” The fear in the kid’s eyes told her he did not want to know anything more. He was already struggling to breathe. Grace used every ounce of control she had not to keep squeezing. “I didn’t think so. Keep your shitty ideas to yourself about the Commander. If I hear so much as a whisper about her come out of your diseased little mouth, I’ll come for you. Comprende?” 

The kid nodded emphatically into Grace’s grip. Slowly, she released him, looking sideways at his comrades, who were all frozen. Grace’s reputation as a fighter preceded her most of the time. They knew better than to mess with her any further. All it ever took, and everyone knew it, was to talk about the Commander. Everyone knew Grace Harper would kill for her. The kid grasped his throat, rubbing it as the three of them took off in the other direction. 

Grace walked down the tunnel from the gym to the common area. She decided then and there that she wasn’t going to hide herself from people ever again. She stripped her work shirt off, leaving her only in her tank top. She rolled the work shirt up and stuffed it into her bag. She stood in the common area, looked down at her right arm and resumed her life as it should be. 

Sarah Connor was sitting at the table in front of their chess game. Grace moved to sit down opposite of the older woman. Neither of them spoke at first. They just stared at the board, looking for their next move. Grace had to admit it. Sarah was incredibly good at chess. Every move Grace could conceive of, she knew Sarah would counter it every time. She had to think much harder about this game than controlling her new arm. 

“How’s physical therapy?” Sarah finally sat back and looked Grace over. 

“I’m just about done with everything. Want to see what I learned to do?” 

Sarah liked this version of Grace a lot more than the other one. This younger, less cocky version was much easier for Sarah to get along with. Sarah nodded for Grace to continue. 

Grace reached into her pocket with her new hand and pulled out a coin the size of a fifty cent piece. It was her graduation medal. She kept it with her at all times, to remind her of the thing she could accomplish. She rested the coin flat on the back of her hand, held it there, concentrated on what she needed to do. In the blink of an eye, she yanked her hand backward and then forward, catching the coin. She opened her palm to show Sarah. The older woman smiled and nodded. 

“Wait. I got one more trick.” Grace held the coin between two fingers and began rolling it back and forth over her knuckles, flipping it over and over. It was actually a physical therapy exercise the techs had taught her. 

“Fuck, kid. I can’t even do with my hands. That’s cool. Can you shuffle a deck of cards?” 

Grace sighed, admitting that she had not yet even tried that. 

“I’ll get you some cards to practice with. I think I have some in my room. I’ll bring them to you.” 

Grace felt a hand on her left shoulder. She leaned back and looked up to see the beautiful brown eyes of her partner staring back at her. “Hi there.” Dani squeezed her shoulder. Grace absentmindedly brought her right hand up across her chest to touch Dani’s hand. When she made the connection, she half expected the brunette to pull away. Grace had the impulse to pull away first, but Dani wrapped her fingers up in the metal ones, holding Grace steady. The blonde warrior felt her heart beginning to beat harder and faster. The sensation of Dani’s touch on her new hand wasn’t special in any way, physically. It was the emotional sensation of Dani willingly holding her hand. It made Grace feel like the limb was actually a part of her body that Dani loved. It was the first time that Dani had publicly touched her since the surgery. 

“Sarah, First Sergeant Muller and I need you in logistics. We’ve got a caravan of survivors coming in from the south and they’re being pinned down by machines near Laredo, all along the river.” Dani’s voice was strong and authoritative. Grace felt the twinge of jealousy bloom in her chest. She knew she would not be going out on a mission to help. 

“Grace?” Dani squeezed the blonde’s hand. “Can I speak with you privately?” 

Grace let go and stood up with Sarah, watching the older woman limp quickly down toward the logistics department. She wondered if the techs in prosthetics could help Sarah. The arthritis in her hip must have been incredibly painful. Grace knew they did hip replacements before the war. She knew they had the technology to do it now, perhaps even better than before. Grace followed Dani silently to the Commander’s office. 

Dani let her in and shut the door behind them. Grace stood with her back to Dani, looking at the new map of Texas on the far wall. One of the leaders from another base had brought it for her. It was framed. The map showed all of the roads and terrain of the state, cities and towns. In red marker, the four area bases were marked. There was a red line drawn between Base 2 and a new outpost to the northeast, near Austin. Grace had heard a new outpost was being set up there. 

Dani slipped up behind Grace and wrapped her arms around the blonde’s waist. She pressed herself against Grace and laid her head between her shoulder blades. Grace rubbed Dani’s arms with her left hand, tracing lightly with her fingers. She turned in Dani’s arms and looked down at the Commander. “What’s wrong, Dani?” Grace could see the trouble in the brown eyes, whether Dani wanted to let it show or not. 

“Nothing really. I mean, you’re going to be cleared by medical to go out on missions soon. I’ve been getting the progress reports from the physical therapist. You’re doing really good.” 

“But..” Grace knew there was going to be something else. She let her right arm hang limp at her side, over Dani’s. She held the Commander’s hip with her left. 

“No buts. There’s a new program opening up at Base 2. The new aircraft, the Dragonflies and the MedEvac transports need pilots and gunners. It’s a month-long program. Right now, we don’t have any of the new equipment or weapons here. We need someone to go to Base 2 and learn everything in order to bring it all back here. Then we need someone to teach the soldiers here.” 

“Are you asking me to go? Ordering me to go?” Grace was not upset about it either way. She just wanted to know what Dani wanted. 

“I’m asking you to consider it. Think about it over the next few days. This is combat training that you don’t have yet. Completion of the program will earn you a serious promotion to non-com status. You’ll be a buck sergeant when you’re done. Then I can assign you a crew that you’ll be able to take out on your own. It’s an opportunity for you, Grace.” Dani pressed her hands into the blonde’s belly, letting her palms soak up the warrior’s warmth. “I could not think of anyone more deserving of it than you.” 

Grace exhaled through her nose. It did sound like a pretty good gig. She’d be a pilot. She’d be a gunner. She’d still be an infantry soldier. This program would make her more versatile, more valuable. A promotion would be awesome. Not many soldiers her age were non-coms. It would also take her away from Dani for a month. A lot could happen in that amount of time. No one would be here to protect Dani. After everything that happened, Grace had the hardest time letting Dani do anything alone. She ran over all of the information quietly. Dani leaned against her and Grace rested her chin on top of the brunette’s head. “I’ll think about it.” She whispered quietly, as Dani began moving her hands up between them. 

Grace closed her eyes, feeling the Commander’s fingertips stop just below her breasts. “Of course, you don’t have to, amor. I just thought you’d like the option.” Dani reached up and pulled the neck of Grace’s tank top down a little bit, and planted a soft kiss on her chest. The brunette slid her free hand into Grace’s right hand, letting the warm metal fingers cradle hers. Grace responded, holding Dani’s hand as gently as a light bulb. She remembered her encounter with the recruits earlier, impressed by how much control she’d been able to exercise. Grace looked down into Dani’s eyes, seeing the love and longing there. She wanted Dani badly. She just had not been in the same place at the same time with her since she started physical therapy. They had not made love in weeks. 

“Dani,” Grace breathed hard. The Commander slipped her hand up and cupped Grace’s breast through her shirt. The blonde closed her eyes and moaned softly as Dani stroked the stiff nipple with her thumb. Dani did something then that Grace never expected. She sat Grace down on the guest chair in front of her desk and straddled her. She held both of Grace’s hands in hers. The Commander never said a word. She just stared Grace down. There was that familiar look of hunger and power in Dani’s eyes that always made Grace’s body respond. Dani dropped Grace’s left hand and took her right in both of hers. Dani held the metal hand between her palms, slowly stroking each finger. The sensation of the gentle touch stimulated Grace’s brain. Dani watched the goose bumps form on the blonde’s skin. She smiled, gazing into stormy blue eyes. 

Dani took Grace’s hand and slipped it up under her shirt. “Touch me. Get to know me again.” Dani whispered, coaxing Grace. This moment reminded the Commander of the night she took Grace’s virginity. She had invited the young blonde to explore her then, and she was doing it again now. 

Grace had never touched Dani like this with her new arm. She wanted to be incredibly gentle. She felt her palm pressed against Dani’s abdomen. She focused, controlling the amount of pressure and strength of her fingers. She gently stroked Dani’s skin as if it were paper-thin glass. Grace looked at Dani for confirmation that she was doing okay. The Commander licked her bottom lip and nodded. She wrapped her arms around Grace’s shoulders, feeling the difference between flesh and metal, and pulled Grace in for a filthy kiss. She did not wait for Grace to open her mouth. Dani sucked the blonde’s bottom lip into her mouth and licked it hotly. Grace groaned, slipping her hand up higher to caress one of Dani’s breasts. The sensation of her fingers on the curvy flesh caused Grace’s cock to throb and wake up. That was an entirely new sensation for her. Grace took the nipple between her thumb and forefinger and squeezed lightly. Dani let her head fall back, breaking the kiss, exhaling loudly. Grace moved in and kissed the skin of Dani’s throat, nibbling and licking. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. She slipped her left hand up under Dani’s shirt and began to work the other breast, tugging and squeezing. 

“Grace,” Dani moaned. The Commander grinded against the blonde’s lap. 

“Is it okay?” The young warrior whispered as she continued kissing Dani’s neck, gently sucking and biting her way up to the brunette’s ear. 

“Yes, oh god, yes.” Dani was in heaven. She had missed Grace so much lately. The new arm had felt strange to her that night in the infirmary, but now, with Grace in control of every aspect of it, it felt good. Grace was able to touch her gently, like a lover should. Dani’s body responded to that touch. She felt herself growing wetter and wetter as Grace began to explore Dani’s body more and more with her right hand. 

Dani began to grind faster and harder on Grace’s lap, feeling how hard the blonde warrior was for her. 

“Do you want to? In here?” Grace whispered, almost reading Dani’s mind. 

“Anywhere.” 

Grace began to unbutton Dani’s pants. She stopped when she lowered the zipper. She looked down between them, seeing the skin of her partner, the light trail of hair that disappeared into the cotton panties. Grace started breathing faster. “Touch me, Grace.” The words spilled out of the brunette’s mouth. “Everywhere.” 

Grace started to slip her left hand down inside when Dani caught her wrist. Grace looked up, seeing the look in the brunette’s eyes. It was different. Dani was afraid, and aroused. Grace got the idea. She let her left hand rest of Dani’s hip, and she maintained eye contact. Dani leaned in and kissed her softly, opening her mouth for Grace. The blonde’s tongue was so gentle, massaging Dani’s lips and her tongue. Grace ran the metal knuckles of her hand across the brunette’s lower abdomen. She pulled back from the kiss to watch Dani’s reaction as she lowered her right hand into the Commander’s pants. Grace sensed the wetness and heat. She gasped at how much she could actually feel. She cupped Dani’s sex, letting her get a feel for the hand touching her. Dani gripped Grace’s upper arm, urging her to keep going. Grace took a deep breath and slipped her middle finger between the sensitive folds, dragging it up until she sensed the swollen bundle of nerves. 

Dani moaned loudly and arched her back, pressing herself harder against Grace’s hand. The blonde stroked her carefully, taking great care to exercise complete control over her new limb. “Inside,” Dani moaned. Grace felt her cock throb painfully. She took the Commander’s order and pushed her middle finger slowly into Dani. The brunette clenched her walls around Grace’s finger, sending signals to the blonde warrior’s brain that she could barely handle. It was almost like she felt Dani’s most delicate spot with her entire being. 

Dani grinded down harder, undulating her hips against Grace’s hand. “I’m so close, baby,” Dani groaned. Grace brought her thumb against Dani’s clit, letting the brunette press against it. She wrapped her left arm around Dani, pulling her close as the Commander rocked out her orgasm. Grace felt so close to her as she held Dani tightly. Dani’s body shuddered and convulsed, as Grace stroked her deeply, dragging her fingertip across the sensitive spot inside. Dani had shown her how to bring her to greater levels of pleasure by touching her there. Dani threw herself against Grace, biting the soldier’s neck, sucking the skin hard. Grace felt a mark would be left there, but she didn’t care. She wanted everyone to know she was giving the Commander this much pleasure. 

As Dani’s climax began to subside, Grace gently pulled her hand away, letting it rest on the brunette’s belly. She could feel Dani shaking under her touch. “Are you okay?” Grace asked, looking at her lover for signs of pain or fear or discomfort. Dani leaned in and kissed Grace’s lips fully, exploring her lover’s mouth. Grace smiled, feeling Dani respond the same way. 

“That was incredible.” Dani whispered. She reached down between them to unbutton Grace’s pants. The blonde leaned back in the chair and watched Dani work her fly down. The brunette slipped her hand inside Grace’s briefs, pulling the hard cock free. “Oh, Grace,” Dani whispered, exasperated. The heat of her lover’s skin was overwhelming. 

Dani moved off of Grace’s lap and dropped to her knees between the blonde’s thighs. Grace let her arms fall to her side, limp. She stretched her legs out in front of her on either side of Dani’s knees as the Commander took her pants off. “You’ve been so good. You’ve been through so much, amor,” Dani stroked Grace’s cock slowly, running her thumb against the sensitive under side. “You deserve something nice.” With that, Dani lowered her head and took Grace’s length into her mouth. 

Grace had never had a blow job before. She did not know how it was supposed to feel, but Dani’s mouth was sweet and generous. Grace moaned and let her eyes roll back in her head as the brunette sucked softly and ran her tongue everywhere that Grace could feel. Dani took Grace to the back of her throat, swallowing against the head, letting Grace feel every part of her mouth. She pulled back, leaving only the head of Grace’s cock between her lips. The blonde looked down at the Commander, in such a compromising position, knowing that she was the only one who ever got this from Dani. The way the Commander’s lips wrapped around Grace’s shaft was so dirty. Grace was going to come fast and hard. 

“Oh, Dani,” Grace growled as Dani took her entire length into her mouth, letting Grace push into her throat. And that was the end of it for the blonde warrior. She began to throb and pulsate, shooting hot fluid into Dani’s wet mouth. Dani took it, swallowing gladly, and she did it clean. Dani did not let a drop fall anywhere. She massaged Grace’s thighs as the blonde bucked and shivered against her tongue. As soon as Grace was finished and came down a little from her high, Dani let her go. She leaned back on her knees and just looked at her young lover. Grace was panting, still moaning. She watched an aftershock make the blonde’s body jump. 

Dani stood up, buttoned her pants, tucked her shirt in and smoothed her hair back. She helped Grace with her pants, seeing that the blonde was probably incapacitated to some degree by the intensity of her orgasm. As Grace stood, pulling her pants up the rest of the way, she did not even think about it. She just reached down with her right hand, and repositioned her cock in her briefs before buttoning them up. Dani smiled at how naturally Grace moved with her new hand. She nodded to Grace and gave the blonde a crooked grin. 

“I can get used to that.” The Commander stated as she moved to hold Grace for another few moments before they had to leave the privacy of the office. “I could do that every day with you, my love.” Her tone was so soft and gentle that it was breaking Grace’s heart. It was a good thing, though. Grace adored Dani in ways she never imagined possible. The brunette’s softness was like Grace’s kryptonite, bringing the warrior to her knees, defenseless against Dani’s love. Grace wrapped her arms around Dani, holding her tightly against her tall body. 

“I love you so much, Daniella. I will for the rest of my life.” Grace laid her cheek on top of Dani’s head, feeling the Commander flatten her palms between her shoulder blades. She felt Dani run a finger across the bolt where metal and flesh came together. 

Unfortunately, Grace had already mentally made her decision to go to Base 2 for training.


	17. Comrades in Arms

The moment Grace stepped off the Dragonfly transport at Base 2, she felt as if she had landed on a different planet. The landscape was dotted with old, broken oil pumps. She remembered them from before the war. Legion had done its best to destroy all of humanity’s resources, burning oil wells and bombing refineries. Soon, there were not enough people or resources for it to even matter. The silver mine that housed Base 2 was part subterranean and part strip mine. There was a huge crater in the earth, filled with black water. The edges of the crater looked like there were trails dug out there at one time. Now, the mine was just a place to put garbage. Not much about humanity had changed since Judgement Day. People still looked for holes in the earth to throw things away. 

The subterranean silver mine was not as finished as Base 1. The tunnels were still rough. The electricity was rigged up with extension cords and work lamps. The base itself ran on diesel generators by fuel brought in from Monterrey or San Antonio. The tunnels were close and cramped, affording people barely enough room to move in pairs through the twisting cooridors. 

On the first day, Grace and a few other Base 1 students were taken to their quarters. Everyone bunked together. It was not for a lack of space, but rather a lack of renovation or forward progress. Base 2 was not built to house too many soldiers. Its main purpose was to house soldiers long enough to train them on the new equipment. Grace and 4 other soldiers were put into the same area, a hollowed-out section of the rear tunnel. Cots and bedrolls were set up on the earth floor. Grace picked a bunk and dropped her bag next to it. She stripped off her armor and laid it under the cot. This place did not feel like home at all, but then again, Grace wasn’t planning on being here forever. 

Of the three other students, two were in Grace’s graduating class. Herby and Shannon were good guys. Only Herby had graduated ahead of Grace. Shannon was the type of kid who would have stayed on his father’s farm, for life, after high school. If he even made it that far. It was not a judgement on anyone’s part. It was a statement from Shannon himself. The only reason he did not get into the agriculture program at Base 1 was because his father was dead already. There did not seem to be any more reason to carry on his family name. Shannon decided to make his own name. Herby was a gung-ho soldier. He was a year older than Grace, a deadly accurate shot with a rifle, and he was incredibly kind off the battlefield. The only other soldier in the group was the one Grace grabbed by the throat for talking about the Commander. She had never learned his name before that day. Lucas Shay was a cocky kid, but lost all his power when his friends were not around to bolster his bravado. On his own, Lucas was kind of shy. 

The transport bays were the only spots in the mine that had been worked on. The bays had been dug out to accommodate the Dragonflies and MedEvac vehicles. The tunnel was essentially a giant garage. Giant pieces of equipment lay strewn along the length of it, vehicles in various states of repair. Base 2 not only worked on the new vehicles, but took care of any area trucks and tanks. Grace was in awe of the new transports. The ion drive engines were brilliant, allowing the Resistance to start breaking free of their dependence on oil. With a little help from captured Legion tech, scientists were able to reverse engineer a lot of the designs, making them more human friendly. It was not impossible, considering Legion had its roots in human technology. It just took a bit of doing by the knuckle busters in the engineering departments. 

The first day was all orientation. The students were taken on a tour of the mine. They were shown the very basics of the installation, which in fact, were very basic anyway. There was a communal shower and latrine, a common area where most soldiers gathered after work. There were the barracks, such as they were, no more than rudimentary holes in the walls. There was the command and communication center, where the Captain of Base 2 led the charge. Other than that, Base 2 was a functioning workshop. There was really not much to it. The students were issued a set of work clothes and boots. They would receive daily rations in the morning and were expected to make them last all day. 

The gunner tutorials would begin the next day. Not only would Grace and the other students be familiarizing themselves with the guns aboard the new transports, they would also be learning the new weapons brought in from UCLA. The science division there had begun to produce small arms for distribution a few years before. Now that they had perfected the science, mass production was underway. Part of the pilot program would be to make it half way to Los Angeles for a rendezvous with the UCLA drop-off teams. The new weapons would be brought in and distributed among the four area bases. 

At the end of the first day, Grace decided to just go back to her cot and rest. Her shoulder was starting to ache, as it did at the end of every day. The doctors had told her it would ease up after a while, but it had been a month now, and it still hurt most of the time. They issued her some mild pain medication to take as needed. They offered her some stronger meds, but Grace refused, not wanting to dull her edge in training. She kicked off her boots and laid back on the small cot. Her feet hung over the edge a little bit. She did not like it at all. The chill in the mine was something they told the students to learn to live with. Grace had worn her field jacket and knit cap all day and was still cold. She wished she had thought to pack thermals, but it was August. She did not think she would need them. 

Grace laid on her back, wondering what she was thinking about entering this program. She would have eventually made non-com status just through the infantry. This program was a fast track, but Grace was missing home already. She was missing Dani badly, and she had 29 days left. A groan escaped her throat as she let the wave of discontentment fall over her. She wondered if it was too late to change her mind; but she was not a quitter. She’d get through this no matter how long it took. She wanted to learn to fly, and the promise of new weapons was so very tempting. 

She was alone in the room for a long time. She wondered where her fellow troops had ended up. Grace had never really made any friends since Judgement Day. She spent the first few years running and hiding. She learned early not to trust people. Once Dani found her in Laredo, Grace was under the Commander’s wing. It was even tougher after that to make friends. No one wanted to be friends with the Commander’s pet project. Something about Dani’s authority frightened the kids. Dani told Grace that they were jealous and stupid, and not to give up. Grace eventually did give up on making friends. She’d been alone for so much of her life, that it stopped mattering who was at her side. She had Dani and that was always enough for her. 

Herby happened by right as Grace was trying to fall asleep. 

“Hey, Harper. A bunch of us are down in the commons having drinks. You should, um, come hang out.” He had never actually spoken to Grace outside of the training rings at Base 1. “One of the old gunners has some really nasty moonshine, and Lucas is already wasted. It’s pretty funny.” 

Grace draped her left arm over her face, covering her eyes. She wished Herby would just go away. She did not want to hang out with anyone really. She was stuck in her head, missing Dani so much that it made her ache. 

“It’ll do you good to get to know the crews. We’re going to play cards in a bit.” Herby scuffed his boot across the floor as he turned to leave. 

“That’s ok. My shoulder aches and I’m tired.” It was not entirely a lie, but Grace knew she could do better with herself. She had to hand it to Herby, at least he was trying to involve her. Most didn’t bother with her. She could be standoffish. “Thanks, though.” Her thoughts returned to Dani and Base 1 immediately, even before Herby left the room. 

“Well, if you change your mind, you know where we’ll be. And Grace? There are girls down there. Pretty girls.” Herby laughed. Grace knew there were no girls. At least not for her. She sighed heavily and managed a smile from under her arm. 

“Thanks, Herb. Maybe I’ll be down later.” That was a lie. Grace knew she wasn’t going anywhere. 

Grace let her mind wander after he left. She listened to voices echo through the tunnel. She heard the clanging of metal on metal somewhere in the distance. The base garage never slept. It just ran in shifts. She could hear the engines of the Dragonflies start up and power down at different intervals, signaling their arrivals and departures. Grace was thinking mostly about Dani. She missed her scent and the warmth of her partner’s presence. Grace was imagining running into Dani in the tunnels here, pulling her into a darkened corner and ravishing her while they had a moment together. More than once, Dani would grab Grace by the lapel and pull her into a closet or an empty room and make out with her until they were both breathing hard and sweating. Grace loved those interludes, moments spent tearing at each other's clothes, just to get some skin contact in the minutes they had between work duties. As Legion began using more advanced machines, Dani’s work became more hectic and frenzied. There had been fewer nights spent together. Grace closed her eyes and thought of Dani next to her, and before she knew it, Grace was dreaming about home. 

It was late when the rest of the students arrived back in the room. Grace woke suddenly, startled by the sudden noise of loud, drunken young men. She froze solid, terrified suddenly. Too many memories came flooding back. Things she had tried so hard to forget about Dilley, TX, were now in the forefront of her mind. She tried hard to just be invisible as she laid on her side, facing the wall. 

“I see the freak was too good to join us,” Lucas slurred. Grace could tell by his speech that he was obviously wasted on illicit liquor. She could hear him staggering around the room, trying to goad the other boys into a fight. She heard a fist land solidly against cloth. Her whole body stiffened and she clenched her fists, imagining the scene behind her. Someone groaned loudly and she heard a body land in one of the cots. She turned over slowly to see what happened. Lucas was laid out, sprawled over the cot directly behind her. Herby was standing over him. Shannon sat on his cot, taking his boots off. 

“He’s an idiot,” Shannon’s voice was soft. 

“He won’t remember any of this in the morning,” Herby stated, walking away from the unconscious boy. “Sorry if we bothered you, Harper.” He turned to regard Grace. She nodded to him and turned back over. She was not making any friends this way, and she knew it. Grace tried to remind herself she wasn’t here to make friends. 

“We’ve got a long day ahead of us. We should all get some sleep,” she half-whispered. “Thanks, Herby. Lucas IS an idiot.” 

“I heard about what he said to you that day after your surgery. What he said about Commander Ramos. I’d have choked him out for it too.” Shannon offered, reclining back on his cot. Grace rolled over onto her back, looking at him. He had dark brown hair, a little long over his ears. He was thin as everyone else those days. He held his own hands across his belly, twirling his thumbs as he stared up into the earthen ceiling. 

“Yeah,” Herby added, taking off his work shirt. He pulled a ratty old blue sweater over his head, covering back up. “His friends made fun of him for weeks about that.” 

Grace rubbed her right forearm, thinking back to that day. She hadn’t wanted to hurt the kid. She just wanted him to be more careful about what he said about Dani. She realized that Shannon and Herby were trying to include her, despite the drunken sot in the room. 

“Any word on the new guns?” Grace finally spoke, but only to change the conversation. The subject of Dani Ramos was a private one for her. She never talked about the Commander or their relationship with anyone. Grace kept Dani jealously to herself. 

“Oh yeah, Harper. Tomorrow is going to be lots of fun. There are new rifles, mortars, grenade launchers, anti-aircraft weapons, new tracer rounds that light up everything you shoot at. There’s a whole list of shit we’re going to get to know.” Herby leaned on his elbow, facing Grace. He had short blonde hair, a little darker than hers. He was thick through the shoulders, but had skinny legs. Herby could run faster than anyone in their graduating class, Grace included. And she was fast. 

“Did you get to see anything yet?” Grace asked, feeling a rush of excitement rise up into her chest. Her heart started beating faster. Combat was her thing. It’s what made her blood run hot. Destroying terminators was what Grace was born for. 

“No, but the sergeant-at-arms has a special class set up tomorrow so we can see it all in action.” Herby was just as excited. “I can’t wait to start blowing shit up.” 

“Fuck yeah,” Shannon added, laughing to himself. 

“Fuck you,” the sound was low, slurred, and directed at no one in particular. Lucas was clearly out of it, unconsciously responding to something else in his drunken head. 

Grace laughed, thinking it was funny how the kid was so completely out of his element. Lucas farted loudly, moaned, and rolled over onto his side, where he started snoring softly. All three of them laughed and bid each other good night. Grace rolled back over to face the wall. She rested her metal fingertips on the cold stone wall, letting the touch sensations register somewhere in her mind. The arm was still new to her, and getting used to it took a lot of concentration sometimes. Grace sighed quietly, feeling her anxiety build like bricks in her chest. 

The following days were great work for Grace. She was learning all sorts of new weapons. With eyes in the sky, the students (there were more of them from surrounding bases) gathered outside during the day. The old oil field was a great place for instruction. The flat terrain provided the students ample area for target practice. It also allowed the guards to see at far distances as they constantly watched for Legion’s presence. Training exercises were done in short bursts. The groups would complete a circuit and head back inside. HKs were on a pretty regular schedule. Fly byes were timed, and the soldiers usually had a couple of hours to safely stay outside. 

The new rifles were to become standard issue. The techs at UCLA were calling them RF-1s. That was supposed to be short for Resistance Force 1. It was the first line of real defense for the infantry. Most terminators were also ground soldiers. The RF-1s fired shells approximately the same size as those from an M16. The big difference was the firepower. Gunpowder had been replaced with slightly radioactive material. It was designed to explode once the shell was ripped apart inside of Legion hardware. Basically, the RF-1 blew huge holes in terminators. It was a brute force weapon. The design of the rifle itself was not fashion, but function. It was boxy. The stock was built to withstand the intense recoil. The barrel was much the same in shape. The material around the barrel created a layer of insulation which kept the weapon from getting hot. The first few designs were terrible. They were slim and sleek, but after just a few shots, they were useless. Soldiers needed to be able to fire continuously, taking only time to reload. 

Hand grenades were being made available, but were in shorter supply than the rifles. The general consensus was that the upcoming line of rifles would be fitted with launchers, allowing soldiers more choice in weaponry. Rather than having to pull grenades from pockets or belts, they would be preloaded into a barrel located below the rifle barrel. There were a couple of prototypes at Base 2, and Grace’s team was able to watch the demonstration. Honestly, she could not wait to get her hands on one as soon as they were standard issue. Until then, she was happy to train with an RF-1. Base 2 soldiers had set up a firing range inside of the old oil field. Broken and partially demolished terminators were set up for practice. Occasionally, Grace was told, live machines were brought in. Once their sensitive tech was stripped, the husk of the machine was used for target practice. Reports were filed at every single practice to note how effective the new weapons were. Each soldier, including Grace had to write out memos noting performance, feel, accuracy, and comfort. In Grace’s case, it was more than that because of her arm. She had two reports to write every night. UCLA was very interested in how the arm was holding up under combat training. 

The guns on the transports were another level of crazy. The guns were huge, for one thing. Grace had fired .50 caliber mini guns before. She knew how much of a punch they packed. The mounted guns on the transports were outstanding. The functioned much like a Gatling gun. Each barrel rotated, fired, and revolved back around to pick up another shell. But the mounted guns were fast as hell. A soldier only needed to pull the trigger. An automatic feed below the mount provided every shell without having to stop and reload. As long as there was ammunition below, the guns kept running. The design was stolen from the M134 GAU-17 machine guns before the war. Grace found it interesting that basically nothing was original, but as long as the weapons blew up the machines, it did not matter at all. Grace would use a pea shooter if the peas brought Legion down. 

The first day of gunner training took the students aboard a Dragonfly. The aircraft took off and headed north, in the direction of the new Resistance base. The authorities wanted the students to be aware of where the base was, and be able to spot it from the air. Grace was assigned to the mounted gun that morning. Shells like that were not in huge supply either, so every shot had to count. She practiced aiming and firing at targets selected by the program managers. There were abandoned cars that were spray painted in red at different intervals. A gunner was allowed three shots per vehicle. It was a go/no go exercise. All Grace had to do was hit each vehicle once in order to pass. She was a fair shot with the RF-1, and thought this would be no different. The problem she encountered immediately was the movement of the aircraft. 

The first shots she took, Grace forgot to account for that movement, and did not lead the target at all. She also got excited and fired too quickly as the Dragonfly passed over the first car. She missed all three shots and failed the exercise. The instructor assured her she’d get another chance that week and not to lose hope. Grace hunkered down in the back of the transport, ashamed of herself. It would certainly give Lucas something to give her shit about. She pulled her cap down over her ears, trying to be invisible, watching other students step up and get theirs. Everyone seemed to do much better than she did. She silently, secretly wished for Dani to come charging in and force Grace to perform better. She felt brand new all over again and the feeling was discomforting at best. 

That evening, Grace filled out her report on the mounted gun. She listed her performance level as zero. She could have probably passed herself on the exercise, but Grace was not a cheater. She listed her new arm as a non-liability in the matter. She explained that she was just nervous. 

Lucas Shay walked into the common area where Grace was sitting. She glanced up only long enough to watch the kid approach her. She lowered her head and waited for his inevitable shitty comment. 

“Harper! You’ve got five seconds to decide! Fight me now, or drink with us tonight!” He yelled, stomping quickly toward her. Grace slid her chair back from the small table and stood to face him. If he threw a punch at her, she was going to kill him this time. Rage, fear, and shame rose up in her so fast, she did not have time to even think about what he said to her. She pulled the leather gloves off her hands and threw them down. She’d been wearing gloves for two reasons: it was cold in the mine, and she did not like people staring at her hand. Lucas had seen it, even felt it on his skin, so she didn’t care if he saw. She cocked her right hand back as he moved on her. If she punched him, she wanted him to feel it again. Over Lucas’s shoulder, Grace watched Shannon and Herby appear. They stood and waited, ready to step in if necessary. 

Lucas stopped short of Grace. “So,” he said in a much calmer tone. “Drink with us tonight. It’ll be good. We can arm wrestle or something.” Grace had to give it up to him. He was trying to get on her good side. She let her shoulders relax a little, but she watched his every move like a hawk. 

“Okay. I could use a drink.” Grace was apprehensive of Lucas’s intentions, but Herby and Shannon seemed relieved by her consent. They came over and looked over her reports. Herby assured her that her next chance would be much better, and he’d practice with her if she liked. Even Lucas offered her some assistance if she wanted it. Grace guessed this was as good as it was going to get with these guys. They weren’t friends, per se, but they were a team. If one of them failed, they all did. 

Grace was unwilling to let them all down, even Lucas. Her success in this program would allow her to command a team of her own. She would be in charge of other soldiers’ lives. She had to be the best there was, and that meant that she needed to master all the equipment. 

That night, one of the mechanics provided them with some high-grade moonshine. Grace’s first sip made it feel like her throat was bleeding. She did not like it at all. It tasted like gasoline. The mechanic told her it could be used in the generators in a pinch. She did not doubt that at all. But still, Grace drank with her team in solidarity. She finally had the support of soldiers that weren’t Dani Ramos. The drunker Grace got, the looser her lips became, and finally, she was answering all sorts of questions about the Commander. 

Lucas was kind of an ignorant kid. He wanted to know everything about their private relationship. That was the only thing Grace would not give up. She just smiled at him and laughed. It was no secret that Grace and Dani had been together since before the blonde was 18. Rumors had flown all over the base. Grace learned that night from Herby and Shannon, that Commander Ramos never talked about Grace to others either. The troops changed the subject as the night wore on. They played cards and everyone cheated. They laughed and carried on, blowing off steam. That was absolutely necessary in the apocalypse. People got too wound up too easily, and forgot how to be human. 

The four of them finally had enough and staggered together down the tunnel to their room. Herby was so shitfaced that he got them all lost twice. Grace finally found their way back. Shannon threw up on the floor of the room, which made them all laugh too loud. Surrounding shouts from sleeping soldiers told them to shut up. Grace threw Lucas’s coat over the pile of puke after he passed out. Fuck him, she thought.


	18. Evolution

Commander Ramos prepped her team early in the morning. The supply run was simple. The team would depart, via truck, for San Antonio. They were in search of things like soap, new laundry machines, fiber optic cable, and any radio equipment they could get their hands on. Dani really did not need to go on the mission, but she was desperate to get off the base for a while. It had been a week since Grace left for Base 2’s training program. She did not want to admit to herself how much she missed her partner, but it was starting to set in. Dani’s work schedule was chaotic, trying to communicate with the other outposts to wage a war against a superior enemy. The radio equipment provided some communication, but they were just too far out of range with the rest of the Resistance. Having crews run in all directions was impractical. It was times like these that Dani missed the internet. 

Her team consisted of ten soldiers, including herself. The radio tech was essential for picking up new equipment that they’d need. He had told her that they could bounce a signal off the existing towers in the area, as long as the outposts farther away had the capabilities of receiving their signals. There had been several different cable television companies in San Antonio that might still have the amount of cable they would need. Dani was also on the lookout for weapons and food; and as always, more survivors to bring into the war. Every mission was a recruitment mission to her. 

The trucks rolled at 0630 in the morning. Dani drove the lead truck, heading on the broken highway to the city. The trip there would take a few hours, maybe half the day if they encountered seriously damaged parts of the highway. She wore her armor tight against her body. Dani liked the feeling of being secure under the bullet proof vest, even if it provided a false sense of security. The terminators were not known for using conventional bullets. Dani thought of the plasma rifles the machines were using now. She’d seen them once. They were like laser guns, each pulse fired would tear through human flesh like a fireball. She knew their simple armor would not do any good against Legion. The trucks were slow too, which left Dani feeling very vulnerable under the intensifying daylight. All she could do was hurry along the roads. 

It was almost 0900 hours when she pulled into the city limits. The road was suspiciously clear. The last time she had been here, the main road into the city was littered with bones and abandoned vehicles. Today, it looked like the road had been bulldozed just for her. Dani slowed the truck down, and ordered her passenger to signal the vehicle behind them to stop. This could be a trap. Even if it wasn’t, Dani did not like her gut feeling. The level of fear was instantly too much to ignore. She pulled the truck over and watched the road. Her passenger had binoculars and was scanning the area. 

“There’s nothing, Commander,” the combat soldier, Juanita Montanez, told her. They mostly spoke in Spanish to one another. They were both from Mexico City. Dani felt a familiarity with the woman just because of that. Juanita was about Dani’s age. They came from similar backgrounds too. 

“Keep looking. I don’t like this one bit.” Dani was right to think so. The Legion HK came out of nowhere. She had not even heard it approach. Those aircraft were notoriously loud. This one was practically silent. It moved slowly, deliberately. It was searching. Dani thought it felt like it was following them, for how long she could not know. Legion was sneaky. 

There was nowhere to run, and they could not hide. If they even left the vehicles, Legion would hunt them down, sending high caliber rounds, plasma or otherwise, through mortal flesh. Dani was backed into a corner. She started her truck and floored it. Maybe if they made it into the city, they could find cover and lose the HK. But the goddamned thing seemed to be corralling them. Every turn Dani made, the HK would fire off a shot and block their way, forcing them to turn a different way. She cornered the truck to the right, heading downtown. The street here was completely blocked off by the shells of vehicles. They were piled up into a wall. The blockade was intentional, by the machines or humans was unknown. All Dani knew was they were screwed. She ordered Juanita Montanez to abandon the truck. The soldiers sitting in the back jumped out, rifles ready. There was only the one HK that Dani ever saw. She ordered her team into the nearest building, which looked like an old bank. 

Once inside, Dani did a head count. Nine heads appeared in front of her, ten including hers. The black Resistance helmets seemed so silly at this moment. If terminators happened upon them, which felt more and more likely, they’d all be killed. She knew they were outgunned and outmanned. 

The explosion took out the entire west side of the building. Dani felt the shockwave before she heard the blast. It sent her flying across the bank lobby, into the steel and concrete wall of the vault. She landed hard on her back. The blast knocked her senseless, breathless too. She remembered concrete dust floating through the air along with shreds of paper currency from so long ago. Dani felt like she was inside of a snow globe, watching the glitter trickle down as if in a dream. Her ears were ringing so loud, she mistook it for the bank’s alarm. She had a thought, remembering when bank robbers would trip the alarms. 

Her memory was cut short by something hard around her ankle. She felt herself being dragged across the floor. She thought perhaps it was one of the soldiers pulling her to safety. Until her vision cleared, and Dani saw that she was being pulled, roughly, by a Rev2. 

She reached backward for her rifle, but she was already too far from where she dropped it during the blast. She tried to kick the metal hand away from her, but it was clamped down too hard, painfully hard. She reached for the pistol on her belt. She pulled the Glock free and cocked it, firing repeatedly, screaming in Spanish for the machine to let her the fuck go. She watched as shot after shot bounced ineffectively off the terminator’s skeleton. Her clip was empty. She threw the pistol at its head as it dragged her relentlessly out of the building. Montanez was suffering the same fate just in front of her, along with a couple other of Dani’s team. They were being dragged, roughly through the street to a building several yards away. Dani watched in horror as Juanita Montanez disappeared into a darkened concrete store front. The light began to fade as the terminator yanked her with great force through the entryway. Dani was thankful for the vest, though she felt broken glass and probably nails pierce her skin through her pants. Her ankle felt broken under the machine’s death grip. 

Inside the store, the terminators stopped dead still. Dani was still being held tightly. She kicked at the machine with her free foot, but it was not bothered by her at all. Juanita’s screams were blood curdling as Dani watched the soldier being lifted up, hanging upside down. A new piece of Legion technology was present. It looked almost human. It was black, with very human features. Dani could make out its face. The machine looked a lot like the Rev9 she spent so much time running from. But this particular machine would have no need of a human disguise yet. As the terminator lifted Juanita Montanez up high, the new Rev bent down to make eye contact with her. She screamed and spat in its face. This had zero impact. 

The new Rev grabbed Montanez by the hair of her head and pulled her up a little. Dani watched in absolute horror as the machine raised its hand to the woman’s face. Black, thin, tendrils extended from the fingers of its hand. As Juanita screamed, the tendrils gained easy access to her mouth and nose, suddenly choking off all sound coming from her. Dani watched the woman’s body buck and heave against the Rev. It held her face in its hand, like a gentle lover, but the stifled human screams determined this was a rape of sorts. Dani wanted to scream too, but she was almost hypnotized by whatever was happening. The Rev stopped looking at Montanez, instead looking somewhere else. The machine was processing something that Dani could not see. As quickly as the Rev penetrated Montanez’s flesh, it pulled away, black and bloody tendrils snaking back into its fingers. The arresting terminator dropped Juanita Montanez on the floor, unceremoniously, and crushed her skull with its foot. 

The exact same thing happened to the other soldier, and before Dani knew it, the new Rev was coming for her. She kicked and screamed, resisting in every way she could, but physically, she was no match for either of Legion’s demons. The arresting machine held Dani by the ankle, suspending her upside down so the new Rev could examine her. Her eyes widened in terror as the black tendrils began to weave from the Rev’s hand. They moved like serpents, slowly toward Dani’s mouth and nose. She reached up with both hands to cover her face. Between the two machines, they restrained her completely. The Rev’s extensions crept up her nose and through her mouth into the back of her throat effortlessly. There was nothing she could do to stop whatever was happening. She tried to scream for help, but she was silenced by the line in her throat. It had a paralytic effect, and she stopped struggling. Dani felt something sharp behind her sinuses. She felt a pop in her head followed by something giving way. 

She twitched and convulsed involuntarily several times before everything went black. She did not know how much time passed, but Dani was thinking about the Resistance. She was watching, as if on autopilot, the inside of Base 1. She saw every step she took to the base, inside the base. She saw her office and the maps, the plans, the communications center. Every single secret operation, Dani watched go by as an unwilling participant. The Rev was extracting information from her. What was terrible for Dani, was that she had the most information. She saw intel from the surrounding bases. Legion now knew she was the Commander. The information she was processing told her she would be used as an infiltrator as battle plans progressed. She could not understand how the machines could even let her live after this. She would most certainly work toward Legion’s destruction. Why not just take the information and kill her? 

That was when she saw it. Maybe she was not meant to, but Dani saw Legion’s entire map for the future. It was dark. Oh gods, was it dark! She watched helplessly as the Resistance was crushed shortly after the augmentation process became successful. She watched Legion capture the time displacement chamber, but she could not see where it was. Humanity had the upper hand there. She saw their plan to send a machine back to kill her. They were keeping her alive long enough to learn the location of the last working time device. They knew the one in LAX would be destroyed, along with the one at Cheyenne Mountain. Even the most advanced system in Toronto would be destroyed before Legion could take it. There was another, but no one knew where. That was Dani’s usefulness to Legion. 

The machines had another plan further out. They were not interested in anything humanity had to offer now. The Human Resistance was nothing more than flies on the back of a pitch-black horse. Their goal was resource extraction. Their plan was to build cities, spanning entire continents, until the earth was a giant machine itself, having sucked the oceans dry, destroying the atmosphere. Humans had done a lot of the legwork for them. Legion was not grateful nor was it sad for humanity. It was just taking the next logical step in its evolution. Then, once Legion had its fill from Earth and had transformed everything organic into mechanical; Legion would leave the planet, hell bent on taking the next one, and the next one. Legion had an intergalactic objective. It was frightening. It was possible. Legion was cold and calculated, and fucking ambitious. 

Dani felt the probes slide from her skull. The arresting terminator held her while she felt something burning against the skin of the back of her neck. The new Rev and the old one released her, dropping her on her shoulders. The force of the drop knocked Dani out. 

When she came to, however long she had been out, she was in a strange building. This wasn’t the bank. The last thing she remembered was the bank. Oh God, the Revs. It all started to come back to her. She looked around, seeing Montanez and the other soldier dead. She could still feel the metallic probes inside of her, even though they were gone. She tasted blood and something else artificial. She had to get back to her team. She felt the back of her neck where it was still burning. There was a little bump there. Had the Rev implanted a tracker or something? Fuck, Dani thought. She wasn’t even sure she could walk. She needed help. She needed the rest of her team. She stood, carefully putting weight on her foot. It was not good, but she could walk. Commander Ramos limped out of the building alone, and headed back for the bank. 

The other seven members of her crew were all dead, bodies lumped together in one big pile. Shreds of U.S. dollars littered the stack of corpses. She had no way of communicating with Base 1. They were supposed to be back home before nightfall. It was almost dark now. Or maybe it was her vision. Ever since she woke up, things had been a little bit darker. Once they did not return home, especially Dani Ramos, Sarah Connor and Dwayne Muller would come for her. Surely, they would. 

Dani limped over to the bank vault, picked up her rifle which had never even been shot once that day, and made her way into the vault. She crouched down against the safety deposit boxes and waited. She had no choice. She had no food or water. She had been skull fucked by a terminator for every bit of useful information she had. 

Dani pulled her knees up to her chest and laid her head forward. She reached down between her legs and fished a shiny object out of the dust. Running her thumb over it, she could see that it was a 2019 quarter. Her thumb wiped the grit away and Dani saw the stamp reading "E PLURIBUS UNUM". Out of many, one. She cried silently, filled with terror for her present and humanity’s completely uncertain future.


	19. Out of Many, One

First Sergeant Dwayne Muller sat at the command station, looking over the area intelligence. Commander Ramos’s crew had not returned as planned. It was approaching midnight, and there was still no word from her or anyone. Muller knew they’d headed in to San Antonio to find radio equipment. They should have been back by now. Muller felt a pinch in his gut, the worry, climbing up inside of him. He liked Dani a lot. He thought she was a great commander, and he’d hate it if something had happened to her out there. It was too dark to send a search team. It would have to wait until the morning. Dani had also taken both of the good trucks on her run. Muller needed some help. 

Sarah Connor suggested that he call Base 2 for help. They had the new transports that were faster than anything on the ground. Muller knew the idea was sound. He just wasn’t sure if alerting Grace was a good plan. Dani wanted her to concentrate on the program. If news got to Base 2 that Dani was in trouble, Grace would naturally drop everything to help the Commander. At any rate, Muller told Sarah, Dani and her crew could be just fine. Maybe it just got too dark to move. Sarah had a bad feeling about it. From everything she told Dani about survival, getting home safe was always the most important thing. Sarah knew that Dani would have tried like hell to get back on time. Something about the whole day was wrong. 

“Make the call, Muller. We can’t leave them out there much longer. If Legion has them pinned down, they won’t last more than a day without support.” Sarah tapped her cane on the floor between herself and Sergeant Muller. He knew she was right. 

“Okay. I’ll call it in.” Dwayne Muller put on the headset and called the relay team at the comms center. He told them what they needed and who and how to get there. Sarah watched his profile, noting the worry and fear on his face. It aged him ten years. She knew he loved the Commander. What kind of love it was did not matter. Sarah knew that Muller had an instinctual love for people. Dani was one of his people. That was all that was important. He slipped the headset off and stood. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and looked down at Sarah. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t go with them. We just have to wait.” 

“Waiting sucks,” Sarah offered. She was never good at consoling people in their grief. She usually just told people to find a way to live with it. It was the truth for Sarah. She’d lost so many people close to her that she had a hard time caring about other people’s feelings. It wasn’t because she was mean; the war with machines had lasted too long for her. It had made her hard. She stood up and asked Muller if he’d like to have a drink, just to take the edge off. Muller offered Sarah his arm and escorted her back to his office. It was the best either of them could do in the moment. 

Grace and her team were aboard the Dragonfly early in the morning. This was Grace’s second chance to pass the mounted gun exercise. Her hands were wrapped tightly around the pistol grips. She could shoot with either hand, or both. The importance of getting this right was paramount in Grace’s mind. She readied both hands, steadying herself as she watched the first spray-painted target appear on top of the first hill. 

“Hold fire!” The instructor yelled over the roar of the Dragonfly engines. Grace felt a hand on her shoulder before she heard the order. She released the grips unwillingly and looked behind her for confirmation. The instructor was speaking to the pilot via his headset. He looked at Grace and nodded. She held her position at the gun. She knew there were new orders coming in. Base 2 was also on standby to assist area outposts whenever Legion appeared. “New orders!” The instructor yelled. “Base 1 is missing a supply crew near San An! Been gone since last night! We’re flying in to check it out!” The instructor was basically screaming over the engines. The aircraft came about and began to head east at a frightening speed. “Harper, stay on the gun! This is a rescue mission, people! Lock and load!” Grace’s team looked to one another and readied their new rifles. “ETA: one hour!” 

As the craft sailed over the landscape, Grace kept her eyes peeled for threats on the ground. She could not imagine who was out there, stuck in the city. The problems the crew faced could be many and varied. They could have had engine trouble. Someone might have wandered off. Terminators may have killed everyone and this was just a body recovery mission. Grace tried not to think about that. Missions like that were never easy, but Dani had always made it a point to honor the dead. 

The Dragonfly was smooth in the air. The design of the aircraft was not pretty. It was just another boxy looking machine dreamed up by scientists in California. She wondered how it was that no one had any imagination anymore. However, there was no time for making things aesthetically pleasing. Everything of value to the Resistance had to function on the highest level. That came first. The Dragonfly was fast and could carry many soldiers at once. It was a gun ship and a transport. That was its function, despite its awkward appearance. Once it was in the air, the Dragonfly glided across the landscape with ease. 

San Antonio was another burned out city in a grey landscape. If they weren’t looking for it or did not know where it was, the city could be passed over without a second thought. Only the remaining skeletons of the high-rise buildings were still visible. Everything was the same color: that milky gray tone of ash. Literally, everything was that color. Grace wondered if it would ever be green again. If the sky would ever be blue again. It was still tinted a light purple color most of the time, when the clouds weren’t covering everything. 

The Resistance trucks appeared below them on the main street leading into the downtown area. Legion had not been spotted in the area since Grace’s team had arrived. She knew as well as the rest of them that could change in only a moment. The crew had to hurry. They had to get in and get out. So far, as the Dragonfly began its descent, there were no signs of life. Wherever the Base 1 team was, they were hiding. 

Grace grabbed her RF-1 from the seat she had occupied that morning, cocked it and unloaded with her team. Herby, Shannon, and Lucas led the way, with Grace and the instructor heading up the rear. She felt the sweat beginning to roll down her forehead underneath her cap. She wasn’t hot. She was scared. Nothing about this scenario felt right. It was too quiet. No one called out. The Dragonfly engines should have been enough to alert the supply team to their arrival. Grace watched the surrounding buildings for movement, but saw nothing. It wasn’t until she saw the trail of blood on the ground in front of her. She had nearly stepped right in it. There was not a lot of blood. Someone was hurt, but probably not dead or dying, yet. Grace studied the droplets on the concrete, looking to see which direction the person was headed in. From what she could tell, it looked like someone had walked into the bank to her right. Grace snapped her fingers, getting the attention of her team. When the all turned to look, she pointed into the exploded bank building. Everyone turned, weapons drawn, and crept into the structure. 

The first thing Grace noticed was that there was money everywhere. If paper currency still had any meaning at all, she’d probably be lining her pockets with it. Now, all the dollars in the world amounted to toilet paper and fire starter. Grace looked ahead and sighed heavily. The pile of bodies on the floor made her chest hurt. Herby and Grace moved around the pile, searching for living souls. Grace was trying to recognize the faces. They were all soldiers that she had known, or at least known of. Shannon and Lucas stayed by the door with the instructor, keeping watch on the open street below. Herby shuffled quietly into the vault. 

“Harper, a live one.” Herby whispered. Grace backed into the vault, keeping her rifle aimed at the front door. She took another step back to see where Herby was kneeling beside a soldier. Grace looked down and almost dropped her rifle. Dani sat, crouched on the floor, looking up at her. Her face was bloody. Her pants were bloody. 

Grace dropped down beside her and laid her weapon down. Dani did not seem to be cognizant of what was going on. Her eyes were dark, pupils blown wide open. The room was shadowed from the daylight. At first, Grace was not even sure it was Dani. She took the woman’s face in her gloved hands. Grace tried to wipe the blood from Dani’s upper lip, but it was crusted and dried against the bronze skin. “Hey, it’s me. Dani, are you okay?” Grace whispered. Herby stood to go tell the team. 

“Grace? What are you doing here?” Dani shook violently, as if to erase some nightmare she’d been in. 

“Take it easy. Are you hurt?” Grace moved her hands from Dani’s face to the chin strap of the Commander’s helmet. She unfastened the buckle and pulled the helmet off. Grace ran her hands through Dani’s hair, trying to feel for injuries. Her gloves were impeding her touch. She pulled them off one at a time. Dani stared at the metal hand going for her scalp and screamed, kicking away from Grace. 

“No!” Dani yelled. The terror in her voice shocked Grace into backing away in the opposite direction. Herby reappeared behind her. 

“What did you do?” He asked as the Commander cowered in the far corner. She drew her knees to her chest, holding them tightly against her. Grace watched the woman tremble and cry. 

“Nothing. I don’t know.” Grace looked at her metal hand. It could have spooked Dani if she had been fighting machines recently. She moved across the tiny vault, on her knees, trying to reassure the Commander that she was safe. “Dani, it’s me. It’s Grace. You’re okay. We’re here to get you out of here.” 

Dani wasn’t seeing Grace though. She was seeing that hand come for her face again. The closer Grace got; the more Dani pressed herself into the wall. Finally, Grace put her right arm behind her, reaching only with her left. “Dani, we’ve gotta go. We can’t stay here. Please, sweetheart, let’s go.” Grace kept moving forward until she was close enough to touch the brunette. Dani eased a little and let Grace put her hand on her knee. “You’re hurt, Dani. Let’s get you out of here. Just look at my eyes, Commander. I’m right here.” Grace reached to take Dani’s hand, feeling the Commander respond to her. Dani gripped Grace’s fingers hard and let the soldier pull her forward. Grace wrapped her left arm around Dani, keeping her metal one out of sight for the time being. Herby bent and pressed Grace’s gloves into that hand. He picked up her rifle and stood by the door. 

“Come on, Dani, let’s get out of here.” Grace kept the worry and fear out of her voice. She was just trying to keep Dani calm, and so far, the only words the Commander had uttered were in total fear and confusion. She needed a steady guide right now, and Grace knew that. She helped Dani stand up. “Let me look at you first. Grace stepped behind her, still holding her hand. She checked Dani over, noting whatever injuries the brunette had, they weren’t terribly serious. Her pant legs were ripped where she had been dragged through the rubble. Grace could not see massive blood loss. She moved back and led Dani out of the bank toward the Resistance aircraft. Grace helped her into a seat and strapped her in. She’d managed to get her gloves back on without Dani having to watch. Grace was scared for her partner. She’d never seen Dani this fucked up over anything before. Something had frightened the Commander to the core. 

“We’ll be home soon, Dani.” Grace turned in her seat, watching the Commander closely. Dani stared ahead, eyes unfocused. She looked lost. Grace wanted to reach out and hold her, but was afraid of stirring up another violent reaction. She let Dani rest alone and stepped back to the mounted gun at the rear of the aircraft. She wrapped her hands around the pistol grips and watched, daring Legion to show up now. Grace was so angry, heat rising inside of her like fire, making her skin burn hot in the summer air. She scanned the ground as they cruised over, wanting to fire off every single shot in the gun, just to feel the power in her hands. Grace wanted a fight. She glanced back at Dani, who was touching her lips with shaky fingers. What had happened to her? Grace wondered to herself, wishing a machine would appear so she could blow it the fuck away. Her grip tightened. She had to forcefully remind herself that her right hand was too strong. She relaxed it and pulled it away from the trigger, pushing her hat lower down over her forehead. 

The rescue crew made it back within the hour with Dani in tow. The west tunnel was ready to receive them right on time. The pilot had radioed ahead for a medical team to be there when they touched down. Grace helped Dani step down and into the care of the lead trauma medic. She was there from the UCLA medical division. Her training in military field medicine was imperative to the Resistance. She ushered Dani to a bench and had her sit down. Grace stood behind them, watching carefully. She stood with her arms folded over her chest, making sure the medic was gentle. Every bit of Grace was concerned and worried for her partner. She was full of more questions than answers. What happened in San Antonio? Why was Dani the only one left alive? What had the machines done to Dani that was so terrible she would not even let Grace touch her? She wanted to pace around, but that wouldn’t help anything. Her show of anxiety would only serve to heighten Dani’s own. If Grace had learned anything about keeping people calm, it was to remain calm too. 

The Base 2 instructor gave Grace permission to stay behind for the time being. Herby and Lucas had informed him of Grace’s relationship with the Commander. The instructor told Grace to return to Base 2 whenever she was ready. She thanked him, feeling terrible about abandoning her team and the program. 

“No. You go back.” Dani’s voice was steadier now, calling out to Grace from a few feet away. The blonde spun on her heel to check the order. 

“I’m staying.” Grace snapped as she walked back toward Dani. She knelt in front of the brunette, watching the medic wipe blood from her face. 

“Grace, I’m fine. It’s ok. You can go back. I know how important this is to you.” Dani looked weak and beaten down. Grace moved closer to her without touching her. 

“You’re more important to me.” She stared up, catching Dani’s gaze. “I’m staying, Commander. At least for now. I can go back later.” 

“I’m ordering you to go, Corporal Harper.” Grace leaned back, staring at Dani in disbelief. After what had just happened, her whole crew dead, Dani was forcing Grace to leave. 

“Can we talk about this, please?” Grace could not take the order as it was. She needed to know what had happened. 

“Yes,” Dani’s voice was a low whisper. “Not here.” 

They weren’t far from their room. Grace asked the instructor to stay for an hour while she worked things out. He agreed but gave her no longer than that. She nodded to him and Herby and helped Dani to stand up. 

Dani felt her ankle throb under the weight of her body. She slipped her arm around Grace’s waist and leaned on her for support. Grace led her slowly, carefully, down the tunnel to their home. 

Inside their room, Dani began unstrapping her armor. Grace was right there to help, trying to get Dani to just let her do it instead. Grace worked her boots off, mindful of the injured ankle. As she slipped the boot off, the swelling began immediately. “That probably needs an x-ray, Dani.” Grace stood and helped Dani get her uniform off. Grace was immediately concerned with the backs of her legs. Once Dani was free of her pants, Grace moved her into the bathroom under better lighting. 

The scrapes were not serious. There were bits of rock and glass stuck into her skin, but Grace was able to pull them free without hurting Dani. From their small med kit, Grace pulled out antiseptic wipes and ointment to treat the scrapes. When she was satisfied that the Commander would be ok, she found a pair of sweats for Dani to wear. She helped her dress, checking Dani’s upper body for more injuries. She found none and helped the Commander into a t-shirt. Grace noticed how warm Base 1 was compared to its sister base down the road. She reached up and slipped her cap off, letting her shaggy blonde hair fall down over her eyes. Grace caught Dani looking at her then. The brunette moved to the edge of her bed and sat down, starting at her lap. 

Grace was close to her in a second, sitting on the floor between Dani’s feet. She kept her right hand covered with her coat and glove. She removed the left one and reached up to touch Dani’s face. “What happened, love?” Grace was so worried, more that Dani would try to pass this over as unimportant. 

“We were just on a routine supply run when the HK appeared. We ran, and it chased us into the bank. The explosion disarmed us and the next thing I knew we were being dragged across the street into the dark. A machine, a new one, was waiting. It had these things, like wires or something. They came out of its hands, its fingers.” Dani was far away again, experiencing the memory all over again. Grace watched the tears form in the Commander’s eyes, but did not move to hold her or console her. She didn’t want to break Dani’s concentration right now. “The wires, they went in my head.” She locked eyes with Grace, reaching out to trace the length of the blonde’s nose. “Here.” Grace understood. “Down my throat so I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t even move. Grace, they were inside my head, touching my brain, searching.” Dani’s voice trailed off. Hot tears escaped her eyes, blinding her again. 

“Searching for what, Dani?” 

“Everything I knew. Everything about the Resistance, the war. Everything. Every...” She stopped speaking and just stared. “It was looking for things I don’t know. It triggered fragments of things I’m not even sure are real. They feel like memories, but I’ve never lived them? Does that make sense?” 

“No, Dani. It doesn’t. What makes sense is a terminator scrambled your brain, looking for useful intel. The brain is complicated, and we don’t know what can happen to it when it gets poked and prodded.” Grace knew nothing about neuroscience. She didn’t pretend to. She just knew that Dani had suffered trauma that rocked her through and through. “Let me stay, Dani. I don’t want you to be alone.” 

“Grace, I just need sleep. I’m okay. I won’t,” Dani started right as the loud knock on the door shook them both. Grace stood up and answered the door. Dwayne and Sarah stood outside, looking more than worried. Sarah pushed past Grace into the room. 

“Jesus, fuck, kid. We can’t let you go anywhere!” Sarah was notorious for not being gentle. But she sat down on the bed next to Dani and held the Commander’s face in her aging hands. “Look at me.” Dani turned to look at Sarah, who was checking something in the brunette’s eyes. “Your pupils are blown. There’s something going on. I’ve seen this before. We’re being watched.” The rules of etiquette in Dani’s private quarters did not apply to Sarah Connor. At least Sarah did not care about the rules. She made herself right at home in Grace’s spot, only to take care her friend. “Close your eyes, Dani. Keep them closed.” Sarah pulled a red bandana out of her pocket. She kept it there for all sorts of reasons. She made sure it was clean and fashioned it into a blindfold. “Wait here, Commander.” 

Sarah stood up and pulled Dwayne and Grace out of the room. Dani remained blindfolded, trying to listen to the muffled conversation. She understood that whatever she heard, Legion heard too. She lifted her fingers up to the spot on the back of her neck where the machine had burned her skin. It was raised up against the skin of her index finger. She pressed it gently, feeling something hard beneath the surface. It moved slightly as she touched it again. Something had been implanted under her skin. 

She heard the bedroom door open again and heard someone approach her. She felt the slender fingers on her shoulder, the soft voice of her lover. “Dani, we think you might be bugged.” Grace had no better words for it. Dani took Grace’s hand and guided it to the back of her neck. 

“There.” Dani felt Grace touch the spot, feeling the size of the implant. The spot was no bigger than a grain of rice. 

“Ok. Hold on.” 

Dani heard Grace retreat, more hushed whispers in the hallway, and the eventual return of her partner. “Dani, I want you to rest. Just lay down and don’t move. Don’t think. Just relax. I’m staying here with you.” Dani knew they had a plan. She did not know what it was, but she could not argue right now. If they were right about having a bug, they’d need to remove it quickly, though the damage was already done. Legion had seen the way to Base 1, heard about the program at Base 2, and seen parts of the receiving bay and Dani’s quarters. Grace had been right to bring her here to talk. She nodded in agreement and heard Dwayne and Sarah leave in the direction of the infirmary. 

Grace helped Dani to lay down. “Grace, I’m sorry.” Dani’s voice was breaking under the pressure of being a Legion weapon. “Your hand. I saw it and it scared me. It wasn’t you. I was just somewhere else.” Dani reached out for Grace blindly. The blonde caught her hand and held it with her gloved right. Dani worked the leather gauntlet free and touched Grace’s metal fingers without recoiling. “I’m sorry, mi amor.” 

“It’s ok, just rest. Don’t think about anything.” Grace curled her fingers around Dani’s, gently holding her. They waited in silence for what felt like hours, waiting for the medics to show up. 

Grace felt Dani start to relax next to her. She stared at her partner, so vulnerable and violated. Grace felt her own anger begin to boil up to the surface again. All she wanted to do was slaughter every Legion machine in existence. Even total destruction could not be enough to appease Grace right now. 

As soon as she knew for certain that the Commander would be ok, Grace would return to Base 2 and complete the combat training. Grace vowed to bring on the damage to Legion. She would follow Dani to the ends of the earth if it meant she would get her revenge. Grace stroked Dani’s cheek and bent her head to kiss her. She lightly brushed her lips across Dani’s, feeling the brunette’s breath on her lips. “I love you. That’s something the machines will never understand.” Grace whispered, hoping that the hive mind was listening. Dani reached up and pulled Grace down to her, kissing her fully on the mouth. 

She broke the kiss finally and said out loud. “We will destroy every single fucking one of them. I won’t stop until they are all gone. I will bring everyone together.” Grace silenced her from speaking any further, feeling Dani’s anger and outrage with another kiss.


	20. The Trouble With Terminators

Resistance Medic Jane Doyle was walking back to the infirmary from the west tunnel when Dwayne Muller caught up to her. She’d been down in the receiving bay checking out the Commander’s injuries. She had thought it strange that the woman had struggled against a terminator and had not been killed. It was not her place to question things, but it seemed strange. The Commander had been shaken, scraped and released as far as Doyle could tell. 

“Hey, wait a minute!” The voice from behind her caught her off guard. She spun around and dropped her bag by accident. Rolls of gauze fell out, rolling in different directions. She knelt down to pick them up as the first sergeant jogged to her. He crouched down beside her to help pick up her loose items. “I need you to do something. A house call, actually.” He reached for the same roll of gauze she did and touched her hand. She felt the warmth emanating from his skin, felt the warmth emanating from inside of her. She looked up to make eye contact with the sergeant. His deep eyes were concerned and kind. Jane Doyle could stare into those eyes forever. 

“Of course. What do you need, Top?” He stared at her funny. No one had called him that since before Judgement Day. “Top” was a term that most of the soldiers under him would use. It was a familiar term used mostly by the Marines, but several in Muller’s command had called him that too. It just took him by surprise that she would even know to say it. He felt her fingers brush the back of his hand and all the hair on his neck stood up. Dwayne Muller had been alone for a very long time. 

“Um, Uh, yeah. Sorry.” He stood and helped Doyle up to face him. He had noticed how very pretty she was. She wore her dark brown hair in a tight braid behind her head, letting it hang down over her right shoulder. Her chin was angular and chiseled. Her nose, sharp and long. It was her eyes that really caught his attention. One was green and the other was brown. The heterochromia iridum was very charming, especially on this woman. How long had she been here at Base 1, he wondered? Why had he never met her before. “I’m First Sergeant Dwayne Muller.” He reached his hand out, and Jane took it, slipping her palm gently against his. He was used to strong handshakes. This was not one of those shakes. He cradled her hand in his, probably holding it too long. 

“I know who you are.” She smiled up at him. Doyle couldn’t be any taller than 5’5”. Dwayne was easily 5’10” with his boots on. “What can I do for you, Top?” 

“We have a situation with the Commander. She’s got something, bugging her.” 

“I’m not a shrink, First Sergeant.” She wasn’t sure what he was getting at. 

“No, she’s bugged. There’s something under her skin. Implanted. Can you take it out?” He asked hurriedly, suddenly aware of the urgency of the situation. 

“I don’t know. I’ll have to look at it. If it’s not real big, I can probably take it out. What is it?” 

“You’ll just have to come and look. It’s Legion.” He stepped to the side and motioned for her to go to the Commander’s quarters. He offered to take her bag so she could run ahead, but she held her own, running right beside him the whole way. 

Dani’s door was open, and Sarah Connor was sitting on the looted couch, watching the doorway. Grace was lying next to Dani on the bed, whispering softly to her. Muller and Doyle stepped into the room together, both a little breathless. Their energy lit up the room. Sarah sat up straight and Grace came up to her feet, standing away from the bed. The only person who did not move was Dani Ramos. 

“Is she asleep?” Doyle asked, setting her bag on the edge of the bed. 

“No, I’m just being still.” Dani smiled up at the ceiling, still blindfolded. She was reminded about something Grace was whispering to her. The blonde smiled, privately knowing the reference. Jane Doyle sat down beside Dani. 

“Why is she blindfolded? Did I miss something?” Jane looked back at Grace. 

“No. It’s the bug. It’s in the back of her neck. It sees and hears what she does, and probably reports immediately. “Here, Dani. Sit up. Grace went to the other side of the bed to help her partner get upright. Dani sat and with Grace’s guidance, turned her back toward Jane. The medic lifted Dani’s braid away from her neck. Jane had missed it. The mark was covered by the Commander’s hair. It was small, red, and raised up. The spot looked like an insect bite, if Jane did not know any better. 

“I’m going to palpate, Commander. You’re just feeling my fingertips.” Grace was impressed. Maybe if she had done that at the bank, Dani might have reacted better. She stored the information away for next time. Everyone watched Jane draw her fingertips over the mark, pressing gently, feeling the size and length of the bug. “I can do it. Right now, actually.” Jane pulled her bag close and rummaged through it to find the topical anesthetic she usually carried. It was strong enough to numb skin, if the wound wasn’t terribly deep. The bug was just under the first few layers of skin. As long as it wasn’t attached to anything else inside, she should be able to remove it quickly. Dani nodded in response, wanting the bug out of her body. 

Sarah asked everyone not to talk from here on out. The less Legion knew what was going on, the better. Surely, the machine mind had known that this would happen. Dwayne and Grace stood side by side. Grace bit the nails on her left hand, a trait she’d had since childhood. Every time she was worried or nervous, a finger or thumb found its way between her teeth. Dwayne crossed his arms over his chest, taking a step closer to watch Jane work. 

The medic applied the numbing agent and waited for a few minutes. In the meantime, she produced a scalpel and some bandages. She laid everything out on the bed. She put her hand on Dani’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “Ready?” She whispered. Dani nodded quickly, letting Jane lead the way. She felt nothing but soft pressure against her skin as the medic carefully sliced her open. Jane held the scalpel in one hand and a wad of gauze in the other. As Dani bled, Jane would wipe it away, trying not to make a mess. Once she had the incision made, Jane reached for a pair of tweezers. She used the fingers on her one gloved hand to spread the wound open enough to see the bug. It was small and black, easily spotted. Jane pressed the edges of the tweezers down into Dani’s skin and captured the bug. She gently withdrew, pulling the small capsule out. Dwayne was right there with a piece of gauze in his hand to receive the prize. Jane dropped it, tweezers and all into his grasp. He turned and approached Grace with it. She stared down at the tiny piece of terminator tech, wanting to smash it immediately. Sarah stood quickly and stepped up to see it. She nodded, held out her hands and folded the bug into the gauze, covering it completely. 

“Dani you can take your blindfold off now.” Sarah spoke quietly, holding the capsule like a baby bird that had fallen from its nest. Dani waited for a few moments as Jane stapled the small hole closed. The sound of the stapler made Grace jump and cringe. She hated what was being done to Dani. As soon as Jane dressed the wound, Grace was slipping into her spot, pushing Jane gently away. She helped Dani with the blindfold. The Commander turned around to look at the group. 

“Destroy it.” She ordered. Her voice was soft but strong. Grace whipped her head around when no one answered her. 

“Wait, Dani. I have someone here who would really like to see this. The trouble with terminators is every time we capture one, Legion wipes it before we can learn anything more than its build. What if this has its mind? It’s intentions? Stored right here.” Sarah stared at the cloth in her hands as if she were holding the Templar treasure in her palm. 

Dani rolled back, nearly kicking Grace in the process, and stood up off the bed. She took two quick steps toward Sarah and grabbed the package from Sarah. “I said,” Dani unwrapped it and threw the bug on the stone floor. “Destroy it!” She wasn’t wearing her boots or she would have done it herself. Grace more than happily stepped up and crushed the capsule with her own boot. The crunch she heard and felt beneath her foot was almost satisfying. Grace brought her boot up and smashed it again. And again, until the bug was nothing more than twisted metal. 

“Goddammit, you two.” Sarah sighed and shook her head. “We could have learned a lot about what Legion wants. But no, not now.” 

“Everything Legion wants? Everything they plan on doing?” Dani’s Spanish accent was thick when she got mad. “It’s all in here!” She brought her finger up to the side of her head. “I know every single thing those fucking machines have planned!” Dani started to shake. She was angry, scared, and simultaneously recalling the vision of the machines’ bleak future. Grace moved close to her and put a hand in her back. 

“It told you?” Sarah pushed the broken bug around with the end of her cane, sure that there was nothing left of it to study. 

“It showed me. That thing that did this to me? It did not want to kill me. It wasn’t designed that way. It was just a probe sent to learn me.” Dani leaned back into Grace’s touch imperceptibly. Grace felt it and splayed her fingers out to hold the Commander steady. “It was inside of me, Sarah. Inside of my skull.” 

The older woman looked back up to meet Dani’s eyes. She understood the desire to destroy every piece of terminator hardware. Sarah should have understood that better than all of them combined. Jane finished packing her bag, placing the bloodied items and used tools to dispose of and clean back in the infirmary. She did not think that the Commander needed to see any trace of this. She shouldered her bag and made her way to the door. “If there won’t be anything else, Commander?” 

“No, thank you Doyle. I appreciate your time. See me in a few days, if you would?” Dani dismissed her and Jane left the room. Dwayne’s eyes followed the beautiful medic, and his heart really wanted to go after her. 

“So, what do we know?” Sarah sank back down into Dani’s couch. They might as well talk about it while they were all together. Dwayne bent down in front of the smashed hardware, sweeping it up into his hand. 

“I’m going to get rid of this.” He stood back up and looked around. The sanitation department had an incinerator. He could just flush it down the toilet. it would end up in the river. Dwayne Muller was very uncomfortable having it anywhere near Dani or Base 1. He excused himself from the women in the room, knowing that Dani would catch him up on the details later. He cupped the mess in his hands, walking quickly, hoping to catch up with Jane. 

Dani turned to Sarah. “Legion has a plan that doesn’t involve us. We are just a nuisance to them right now. We are just a game to the machines.” Dani told the women about the things she experienced during the probe. She described the blackened Earth, covered in its entirety by machine cities. They weren’t really even cities though. They were manufacturing centers and resource extraction plants, refineries and roads. Millions of miles of Legion roads. They were like ants, she said, just making more and more and moving on. There would be tunnels to the core of the Earth, where Legion would harness that power to leave the Solar System. “I can’t describe what it is that they want. Legion’s true purpose is not like ours. We push forward in the name of progress and we do it for future generations.” Sarah huffed loudly. She never thought humanity’s purpose was so elegant. “Survival is one reason, but Legion is bent more toward... I don’t know. I don’t have the words. But it feels like complete, universal domination. But it's even more than that. It’s sinister. Dark.” She finished the thought silently, but there is no more war. 

“Well, we might have had a chance to figure it out if Helpy Stomperton over here hadn’t crushed it.” Sarah pointed the end of her cane in Grace’s direction. “But it’s done, so whatever.” Grace leered at Sarah. She knew she’d done the right thing. The less Legion knew from this point forward, the better off the human race would be. Dani could change her plans at any time now and Legion would not be able to anticipate it. 

“That doesn’t matter, Sarah. What matters is keeping everyone in this area safe now. Legion knows where I am, where we are. I’d expect an attack any time now. I had my eyes open the whole way from San Antonio. Speaking of which, where are the bodies of my crew?” Dani turned to Grace. 

“We just wanted to get you out of there, Commander.” 

“Bring them home, Grace. Please, see to that.” It was an order, but from a Commander that Grace knew better than anyone else. This was a request from Dani Ramos when Grace was just a child. The tone in her voice suggested that she was not asking, but not ordering. Grace felt like Dani was again guiding her to be a better human being. Honor the dead, Dani always told her, each time a dear one or fellow soldier fell. Grace nodded. She remembered that the transport to Base 2 had only given her an hour. It had been at least two. She excused herself to go make arrangements and see about her place in the combat program. 

Dani dropped down on the couch beside Sarah. The older woman slipped her arm around the brunette. It was more comfort than Dani really expected from her. She leaned against Sarah’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She listened to Sarah’s breathing and her heartbeat. She noticed how much different it was than Grace’s. Sarah’s vitals were slower, shallower. Her heart beat faster. Grace was strong and steady. Dani detected something else that she never could have before. It was almost a smell, some kind of vibration in the air between them. She could sense Sarah’s fear. 

“This thing left me with shit I don’t want.” Dani whispered. Sarah tightened her hold around Dani. 

“I’m sorry, kid. I wish I could do something about it.” 

“Not only can I see what they want, but now I’ve got these weird ‘memories’. If you can even call them that. I remember things like I was there. Like I experienced them. But it’s impossible. I was never there. I never did those things. And I can’t recall them completely. They’re just flashes, fragments of images.” Dani wasn’t even sure what she was trying to say. All she knew was that Legion had marked her so deeply, she’d never be the same again. Dani shifted and laid her head in Sarah’s lap. She never felt comfortable anywhere except with Grace. However, the exchange with the Legion probe that left her so internally damaged had also gifted her with feeling more human. 

Sarah Connor laid a kind hand on Dani’s shoulder and let her rest there. Sarah knew what all of this meant. Sarah understood perfectly, having been through the strangest part in 2022 with the time jump and the augmented soldier. She sighed heavily, knowing she would eventually have to ask for help for Dani’s sake. For the sake of all humans apparently.


	21. Mercy

Grace had missed her transport to Base 2. The instructor had left a message for her to call as soon as she was ready to resume training. They would come pick her up immediately. There was no reprimand for missing the window. The instructor knew how important this was. Combat training could wait, he wrote. Grace held the note in her hand, looking around at the receiving bay. She was missing her team tonight. The boys that were becoming men in front of her eyes were her friends now. She knew they would move forward ahead of her. She had really been hoping to finish training and choose them for her crew. Now, that was all uncertain for Grace. She wanted a drink, but she also wanted to go check on Dani. 

The tunnels of Base 1 were so huge, Grace could not believe she was in a subterranean mine. Aside from having no windows to the outside, it reminded her of ancient cities carved into the stone. She tried to remember the city in Petra, Jordan, but could not recall where it was. She could picture it in her mind. The majesty of the carvings, towers and spires hewn into the sandstone. It was a place she always wanted to see. Grace could not even know if it still existed now. Base 1 was so much warmer. Grace took off her field jacket and held it in her arms as she moved through the mine. Base 2 did not have a heating system in place. She did not miss that. 

On her way home, Grace passed the infirmary. She looked in to see Jane Doyle sitting at the desk with First Sergeant Muller leaning against it. They were smiling at one another, lost in some private conversation. Lust and adoration were written all over Muller’s face. Grace knew the look. 

She passed Sarah in the tunnel. The older woman limped up and stopped right in front of Grace. 

“How is she?” Grace asked. “I got a detail together to go out and recover her team.” 

Sarah nodded, looking at Grace’s feet. “She’s hurting, ace. She needs you tonight.” 

“She told you that?” Grace looked over Sarah’s shoulder down toward their door. She wanted to push the older woman aside and keep moving. 

“She didn’t have to. It’s just something I know. Crone’s intuition.” Sarah smiled up at the tall blonde. Without another word, Sarah hobbled away, leaving Grace to go find Dani. Grace turned back to watch the older woman go her own way. A thought crossed her mind but was gone before she could even register it. 

Grace stopped long enough outside of their door to put her jacket back on, followed by her gloves. She wasn’t sure what mood Dani was in now, but she did not want to make it any worse. She could always uncover herself if and when Dani was ready for that. Grace swallowed hard and opened the door. The room was dark, save the bathroom light streaming out from under the closed door. Dani was laying in their bed, propped up on an elbow, facing her. 

Grace shut the door quietly. She stared at Dani in the darkness, seeing how the Commander’s face looked different tonight. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but Grace had never seen that look before. She felt her heartbeat quicken. Dani sat up and threw her legs over the edge of the bed. Grace heard the soft hiss from behind Dani’s teeth. The scrapes on the backs of her legs must have been painful. 

“Take off your clothes, Grace.” Dani supported her weight on her hands. Grace could see her rocking back and forth. It reminded the blonde of a caged animal, pacing in close quarters. Grace was a little scared at that point. She stood silently, unmoving in the dark. She just watched Dani. “Did you hear me? Take off your-” 

“I heard you.” Grace whispered, still not moving. The small sliver of light from the bathroom was cutting right across the width of Dani’s chin. Grace watched the Commander lick her bottom lip and bite it back into her mouth. The blonde began to strip off her jacket and gloves, tossing them onto the couch. 

“More.” Dani’s voice was husky, tainted with something darker. Grace felt her breathing become faster, shallower. She bent and took her boots off, taking the moment to lay them back by the door where they belonged. She unbuttoned her work shirt, issued from Base 2. The tank top below it would expose her arm. She waited for Dani to come to her senses and tell her to stop, but she did no such thing. Grace kept pulling the shirt off, dropping it on the floor beside her. “Keep going.” 

Grace unbuttoned her pants and let them fall down around her ankles. She stepped out of them, now very apprehensive of the Commander’s desire. Dani had never been like this, just watching her, ordering her around. Grace was unwilling to question her, because on some level, she wanted this too. Dani ordered her tank top off next. Grace crossed her arms in front of her, grabbed the shirt by the bottom and pulled it up and off. She stood in the stream of light, blocking it from Dani’s face. The angle threw the light around them against the far wall. Grace stepped closer, towering over her partner. She looked down at the bronze beauty, watching as Dani looked her over. “On your knees.” The command made Grace’s body rage with lust. She dropped straight down in front of Dani, now able to make direct eye contact. The amber colored eyes of her lover blazed with some new, strange need. 

“Closer.” 

Grace moved nearer as Dani spread her legs apart. She was so close now, not touching the Commander, that she could feel the woman’s heat. Dani felt like a blast furnace tonight. Grace half wondered if she had a fever. Dani did not move at all. She just stared at Grace. She looked at the place on Grace’s body where metal and flesh collided. She licked her lips again. What had Legion done to Dani? Grace could only believe that was what was going on with her partner. The machines had corrupted her. 

With no warning, Dani kicked her legs out and wrapped them around Grace’s hips, jerking the blonde toward her until the warrior’s naked torso was touching hers. Grace held Dani’s knees at her sides, feeling the Commander’s pulse. Dani’s body felt like it was out of control. Grace had to say something now. “Dani, what’s going on with you?” The words were lost when Dani reached down and took Grace’s right hand, holding it carefully. Dani ignored her and looked at the metal fingers, interlocking hers with Grace’s. Dani brought Grace’s hand up to examine it in the dim light shining over the blonde’s shoulder. She could see every curve, every joint. She brought Grace’s hand up to her face and closed her eyes. She pressed her forehead against the palm. Grace gasped. The moment, though completely erotic, was unnerving to the warrior. She felt herself harden as Dani pressed herself against her more firmly. Dani held Grace’s hand by the wrist, pulling the palm down over her mouth and nose. 

Grace remembered Dani telling her this was how the terminator held her face, gentle, but with the metal probes inside of her. Grace wanted to pull away, but there was something about the whole act. She was entranced and aroused. The soft sensation of dragging on her palm made Grace react. Dani was licking her. Grace pulled away forcefully, making the Commander release her. 

“Grace, I need this. I need you to do this.” Dani’s eyes were closed. She was leaning forward now, bringing her hands to Grace’s cheeks. The blonde warrior leaned her forehead against Dani’s. 

“I don’t know what you need, Daniella.” Grace did not know if she could give the brunette what she so clearly yearned for tonight. 

“I need you... to make me forget.” Dani sighed softly and pressed her cheek against Grace’s. The warmth of the Commander’s skin, the soft hair on her face, all taunted Grace’s desire for her. “Can you do that, Grace?” Dani’s voice was coming from somewhere else, as if someone different were speaking for her. It scared Grace. 

The blonde steeled herself against the fear. She’d try to give Dani anything she wanted. Anything, including this. She clenched her teeth and summoned a beast from within her. The one that always lurked below the surface for Dani. The animal inside of Grace wanted to dominate Dani. “Yes,” the blonde warrior growled. She heard Dani’s breath hitch sharply. Grace grabbed the Commander and pulled her tightly against her and stood up. She knelt on the bed and lowered them both back. She put a hand in the middle of Dani’s chest, searching her partner’s eyes for confirmation. Grace needed to know Dani was still there, and this was going to be ok. Soft brown eyes stared up at her from within the maelstrom. Dani nodded. 

Grace tore into her, roughly pulling on her shirt, ripping the sleeve as she pulled it off. She moved to the side and yanked the Commander’s sweats and underwear down and off. The brunette yelped in pain as the pants were torn from her legs. Grace wasn’t even careful with Dani’s injured ankle as she pulled the sweats away. Grace acknowledged the cry of pain in her mind. She knelt between Dani’s thighs, looking down at the battered woman before her. Could she really do this? She had to. 

She roughly nudged Dani’s thighs further apart, making room for herself between them. Grace laid down, pressing her hardened length against Dani’s soaked slit. She reached for Dani’s breast with her right hand, feeling the soft tissue give a little under her touch. She pulled the nipple to full stiffness, pinching it harder than she intended. Dani cried out again. Grace stopped suddenly, worried about what she was actually doing to this woman. 

“Fuck, Grace. Yes!” Dani hissed, arching her back into Grace’s hand. She reached down and pulled the metal fingers up to touch her face again, making Grace cradle her chin with it. Everything about this felt wrong. Whatever Dani was going through, Grace didn’t think she was able to be a part of it. Dani only seemed to acknowledge half of her presence. The other half seemed to be Dani’s desire for the machine. 

The thought enraged Grace further. She yanked her shorts down over her ass and took several unsteady breaths. She did not want to hurt Dani. But goddamn those fucking machines! Grace yelled, a fierce cry into Dani’s face. She hovered over the Commander, breathing hard. Dani stared up at her, familiar with this look. An older version of Grace had done this same thing with a Rev 9 in 2022. Dani saw her partner in that moment, the woman she loved. She was tearing Grace apart along with everything tumbling end over end inside of her. She reached up and pulled Grace by the neck and back of the head, down, down, down into a brutally needful kiss. Their lips smashed together. Grace could feel her teeth buried in Dani’s bottom lip. She used her right hand and grabbed her throbbing cock, thrusting it deep inside of Dani’s wet flesh. She drove hard and fast, kissing Dani so deeply that she could almost feel the back of her throat with her tongue. In that moment, Grace wanted to choke her with it, and Dani just pulled her in harder. Grace could not breathe. It was as if Dani were breathing for her. She felt the pulse from Dani’s lungs against her cheek, and sucked it in violently through her nose. 

Grace wasn’t even fucking Dani anymore. She was driving her lover toward an edge neither of them might come back from. Dani’s hands tore at Grace’s hair, pushing her onward. Grace impaled Dani over and over and over, listening to her partner moan and cry, begging Grace to keep going. The blonde warrior pinned her down with both hands, holding Dani’s out to the side by her wrists. She pummeled the Commander repeatedly. She wasn’t even sure if she could come this way. This wasn’t even sex. It felt like assault. Finally, Dani’s body began to clench tightly around Grace’s cock, and the commander bucked and shook under her. She moaned and wailed her release for every soul at Base 1 to hear. 

Grace was grateful for Dani’s release. She could not have asked for more for her lover, but she was also glad it was done. As soon as Dani stopped moving, Grace slid out of her, falling away to Dani’s side. She rolled off the bed to find her pants. She felt so exposed and strange. Grace had not come, and Dani knew it. “Get back here, soldier. You’re not finished.” Grace stood with her back to Dani, letting her head fall back. She prayed that Dani was just kidding. 

“I can’t. Please, Dani.” She turned to look at the Commander who was staring at her hard-on. 

“Grace,” Dani’s tone was suddenly softer, her eyes more focused even in the dark. “Come to me.” Something had shifted, and by all appearances, Grace’s partner was back. She let her eyes travel the brunette, searching for signs that there was something else more sinister waiting. Dani sat up and reached for Grace’s hand. She found it, gently pulling her lover back to bed. 

Grace kneeled on the mattress, and Dani pulled her back down. The Commander rolled them both and straddled Grace this time. She made no bones about it, positioned Grace’s erection, and sank down over it. Grace closed her eyes. Everything about Dani felt different now. She was softer, slower, and very, very wet. Grace could feel Dani soaking her. Dani leaned over and rested her weight on Grace’s body, staring down into the stormy blue eyes. “Thank you for that, my love. Now, let me take care of you.” Dani bent and kissed Grace gently this time, holding her face in her hands. She started to move, rocking slowly back and forth, just grinding really. Grace pushed her hips up into Dani’s center, and felt her orgasm creep closer. She wanted this part to be slow and tender. Grace needed clemency. She felt her climax carry her to another place in her mind, where she and Dani were in love and never hurt each other. She tried to feel the pleasure, but it was tainted with pain and rage. Grace looked up at Dani as she began to ease back. 

They shared a look that spoke a truth neither of them could deny. This happened, and probably would happen again. They did not speak, they just looked. They communicated everything in that moment. The mutual hate for the machines melded with their mutual love for each other. 

Fuck Legion, Grace thought. She pulled Dani close and clung to her, letting tears fall between them. She held her partner as the brunette sobbed against her. This moment of benevolence between Grace and Dani was the truth about being human. This moment would be their new normal. 

Fuck Legion.


	22. The Strongest, A Bit Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a friend, who helped me find my way.

Dani Ramos stood in her father’s living room, calling the dog. 

“Taquito? Donde estas?” She whistled several times, hearing the lilt of her tune echo off the kitchen walls. She looked around at the simple table, the silver vase of flowers arranged like she’d done a hundred other times. 

“Taco?” She called him again. The mutt appeared from around the corner. Dani knelt and opened her arms. “Ven aca.” 

The dog stood very still, lifting a front paw. Dani could not tell if Taco was going to move toward her or backward. It looked like the dog did not know either. “Taco, come here, baby.” Dani tried to coax the dog forward, but Taco just would not move. Instead, she heard a low growl from his throat. She cocked her head to the side, wondering what was bothering the dog. She reached her hand out, an offering of friendship that she’d made before, every single day. The dog snarled louder, baring its teeth this time. 

Dani withdrew her hand and stood up. Taco wasn’t even focused on her anymore. He was staring, growling, at something behind her now. Dani looked over her shoulder and saw the shadow move closer to her. She turned fully to face who she thought must have been her father or Diego. The dark shadow never changed, but remained a black, faceless mass. Taco began barking loudly, each canine shriek ringing off the kitchen walls like the peal of church bells. Dani’s ears hurt from the pitch and volume. “Taco! Be quiet!” She yelled, staring down the faceless entity. The dog kept barking, louder now. 

She watched the black... thing... there was no other word for it. It began to change, creating features where none were before. The thing articulated itself into a human form, and Dani watched the colors begin to emerge from somewhere inside of it. The wraith began to take on a familiar look, the hair and facial features becoming more prominent now. “Papi?” She was sure it was him. Her father’s face morphed quickly into another. Diego this time. The fucking dog. “Taco! Shut up!” She could not look away from the thing in front of her. 

Dani stared, hypnotized by the thing as it showed another face, blonde hair, blue eyes. “Grace?” 

She could not understand what was happening. Dani closed her eyes and willed the phantom to be gone. Slowly, she opened her eyes again, the thing was suddenly enveloping her. Dani was powerless to stop it. Taco’s warning was drowned out by another sound, a vibration really. The new noise crowded out her thoughts, and she realized she was no longer alone in her head. A cacophony of voices spoke all at once. She could not make out what was being said. She listened. All she could see was black. Dani closed her eyes, or maybe she didn’t. The blackness was the same either way. The voices, a million strong began to come together. Dani could make out sounds, words now. “The purpose.” The words kept repeating. “The purpose.” Over and over again, the chorus of voices sang, “the purpose.” 

Dani opened her eyes, or they were opened for her and she was back in the kitchen. She turned to look at the dog. Taco was gone. The phantom was gone when she swung back around. She felt compelled to look out the window. In the distance was a city she did not recognize. There were twin spires, reaching into the sky. The sound of the voices was almost angelic now. Dani recognized the spires as part of a cathedral. It looked familiar but she could not place it. The voices became like the buzzing of billions of insects. It was more a vibration than an actual sound. The hive. 

Dani woke up. She was wide awake. The room was dark as usual, very dimly lit by the bathroom light that Grace insisted on leaving on all the time. She looked around, making sure she wasn’t still dreaming. Dani could still feel the vibration, just under her skin, behind her brown eyes. She ran her fingertips along the skin of her cheek, testing to see if she could feel the trembling or if it was just being produced in her mind. She swore she could feel it. 

Grace’s touch brought her back. Slow and soft fingers on Dani’s back stroked along her spine. Dani took a deep breath. “You ok?” Grace whispered, still half asleep. Dani looked down at the gentle warrior, still naked from the night before. She turned and leaned over Grace, softly kissing her temple, her cheek, brushing her lips barely over the blonde’s jaw. Dani stopped, hovered above Grace’s mouth. The blonde was looking up at her now from hooded eyes. 

“I love you.” Dani’s voice was low, resonating deep inside of her throat. She traced her fingers across Grace’s neck, rubbing her thumb over her partner’s throat. Grace moaned, enthralled by the sound of Dani’s morning voice. Her first words after sleeping all night were always gravelly and sexy as hell. Dani rolled over and laid right on top of her, holding Grace’s face in her hands. “I’ve seen it.” 

“Seen what?” Grace closed her eyes and let her whole body feel Dani’s weight. She loved the petite Commander laying on her. Dani’s presence grounded her. 

“I think Legion has a center. A gathering place, I guess. I don’t know what else to call it. A den?” Dani let go of Grace and rolled off to the left. Grace wrapped her arm around her brunette lover. 

“A dream?” Grace was awake now. She had learned to take Dani’s dreams seriously ever since the Rev held her mind hostage. That had been weeks ago. Every night, Dani dreamed of something else about Legion. At first, it was just a machine that took over the features of a person it touched. Then it was thousands of machines marching on Base 1. Next, it was something Dani could not even explain. Memories, she would say, of a place she’d never been to before. 

“Yeah, I know where it is. Something tells me I’ve been there. But the machine mind is there. I think.” Dani sighed. There was no way to know. She could not launch an assault on Legion based on sketchy information coming from a dream she had. Commander Ramos could not justify that. 

“Where?” Grace reached her right hand down into her shorts and scratched gently. Dani tried not to laugh at the ease with which her partner now used that hand. Dani relaxed into Grace’s hold, not wanting to think about it anymore. She laid her head on the blonde’s chest, listening to her strong heart. Her human heart. 

“I don’t know. I just see it. It’s a church. A cathedral. Like the ones in Mexico City, but the dream tells me that’s not where it is.” Dani knew the dream wasn’t telling her anything specific. Her mind had been occupied by remnants of the Legion probe. Something had been cracked open and she now saw things in her head, eavesdropping on the terminators. But the signal was often scrambled and fuzzy. Dani could never get a bead on them. Dani closed her eyes, turned her head and kissed the warm, soft skin of her lover’s chest. Grace leaned in and kissed Dani’s forehead, letting her lips rest there. 

“I love you, too.” Grace was worried for Dani. Ever since San Antonio, Dani wasn’t the same. She was darker, more focused. Grace remembered the first night when she and Dani nearly destroyed each other in bed. The only way she could make sense of it was that Dani was corrupted, and needed both Grace and the machines. It was too crowded a relationship for Grace to handle most of the time. She was not about to leave Dani over it. Their need of each other was mutual. Since having her new arm installed, Grace had been feeling more aggressive. That aggression was something Dani needed more regularly now. It did not change the love between them, but their sexual encounters were darker and more forceful. 

“I just wish I knew where it was.” Dani whispered. Her warm breath on Grace’s skin felt like fire to the warrior. She felt her body begin to wake up. 

“There’s a library in Laredo. We kept it up. It might still be there. Maybe-” Grace’s thought was cut off by the Commander’s fingers encircling her right nipple, gently rolling it back and forth between loving fingers. Dani lifted her head and looked up at Grace, finding nothing but sweetness and adoration in the sleepy blue eyes. “Make love to me, Daniella,” Grace murmured as the Commander stretched forward to kiss her deeply. It wasn’t always rough and dark. 

Commander Ramos took her spot at the command station later that morning. Grace’s touch still lingered all over her body. She trembled slightly, feeling the ghost of her lover still between her legs. Her thoughts were with Grace Harper, the young warrior who had taken her world by storm. After repeated sessions of rough sex, inspired by the Legion presence in her mind; showing Grace some soft and kind love was just what they both needed. 

The Commander ordered the techs to pull up maps of Laredo, roads leading in and out, and Legion’s presence in the area. Dani shook the gentle sex from her mind and forced herself to focus on this new mission. She needed to find that library. That cathedral could house the mind of Legion. If so, Dani wanted it destroyed immediately. She was cautious with her thoughts. If she could see the machines, they could probably see her too, even without the bug. The connection, at least for Dani, was telepathic. 

The Legion presence in Laredo was stronger than it had been a month ago. Dani had the techs pull up the surrounding areas. Base 1 was close to a town called Uvalde, Texas. Dani had never been there, though she was told there wasn’t much left. Looking at the map on the screen, Dani looked at Laredo, San Antonio, Corpus Christie, and Austin. There wasn’t much to the north until Odessa or even Dallas. Legion was occupying San Antonio now and Corpus Christie also. The more Dani thought about it, the more she believed Legion was slowly creeping in on them. She remembered being nothing more than a game to the machines. Destroying humanity was something they were doing to pass the time until, what? Their objective was so dark, Dani could not even see it anymore. 

Grace had abandoned the training program at Base 2. It was not a lack of wanting to go back. Base 2 had sent new transports and weapons to Base 1 after the Commander had been waylaid by the Revs. She completed her training at home. She was given the promotion to sergeant, by Dwayne Muller. Herby, Shannon, and Lucas asked to become part of her crew, along with six other soldiers from the program. Every single one of them volunteered for Grace’s team. Sergeant Harper had been so proud that day, vowing to never let them down. 

She worked hard with her soldiers every day. Transporting goods and supplies was about 90% of their job these days. The Resistance had not yet advanced to direct attacks on Legion, but they were approaching that time quickly. Grace’s crew went out every week and rendezvoused with the UCLA teams in El Paso, bringing in new weapons and soldiers. Grace and her team trained them all accordingly. First Sergeant Muller would give them all jobs next. The population between Bases 1-4 was starting to bloom to a point where expansion would be necessary soon. The food labs were able to produce enough, but with all the newcomers, those who spread the message of resistance, it would soon not be adequate. 

As the Legion presence grew stronger, moving in on them, Dani Ramos knew there was not going to be a choice of how to proceed. The Resistance would have to fight, even if it meant they would all die, to the very last soul. She was strong in her resolve to win this war, even if she was a bit broken. Fragmented memories came and left Dani’s mind like traffic at Grand Central Station. She saw tiny bits of information, like Legion’s purpose, the hive, fleeting feelings that she had done this all before an infinite number of times. There was another TDC in a place she did not know. Dani wondered if she should try and find it, destroy it before the machines could. Something told her not to even think about it, because as soon as she found it, Legion would be waiting right behind her. She was a dead giveaway. 

What did Legion want with the TDC? They’d sent a Rev back to kill her once already. The probe should have destroyed her that day and been done with it. The only problem was, Dwayne Muller, Sarah Connor, and Grace Harper would take her place in the war. Maybe Legion knew this too. The future was so hard to know, impossible to predict. 

Without any more deliberation, Dani decided to trust the dreams. She would use them as fuel to burn the Resistance fire brighter and higher, lighting up the dark fate of humanity. Commander Ramos needed to find that church, starting at the library in Laredo.


	23. Amalgamation

Dani sat in the old library, thumbing through a book on North American churches. She was looking for the one that matched her dream. Grace’s team stood watch outside. Dani could hear the blonde warrior talking in a hushed tone. Some of the survivors in Laredo remembered Grace from just a year ago. Dani could hear Grace trying to recruit some of them to come to Base 1 for training. 

It felt like she was in the library for ages. Dani stopped looking through books to take a moment to remember the time before Judgement Day. She never had much time to sit in a library and read. She was always working, always hustling to keep her family afloat. Reading in a library was not a luxury Dani Ramos ever had. It was ironic that it took the end of the world to afford her some reading time. 

She sat on a wooden table, legs crossed in front of her, a stack of religious books beside her. When she finished one, she’d lay it to the side, careful to not mar it more than it was. Most of the books in the library were intact, just dry rotted and dusty. The next book in the collection covered churches and chapels in the United States. Dani knew she was looking for a needle in a haystack, but she had to try. The first few pages into the book, and everything looked the same. Her frustration was mounting. She’d never find it, she realized. This was all becoming so pointless, a waste of time. 

Dani gave up halfway through the book, throwing it against the bookshelf nearby. She felt bad about not being careful, but her anger was overwhelming now. She laid back on the table and put her hands over her face. What the fuck was Legion up to? Was this just a wild goose chase to keep her busy? It couldn’t be, she realized. That dream was real to her. She felt the machine presence, strong as her own heartbeat. Grace must have heard the book slam against the shelf and appeared out of nowhere, silent and stealthy. Dani felt the hand over hers before she even heard Grace approach. “What’s wrong?” Grace asked, stroking Dani’s hand with her gloved fingers. 

“Nothing,” Dani’s voice was just a frustrated sigh, no louder than a whisper. “I’m never going to find it. There are a million churches, and they all look the fucking same. It could be anywhere in the world.” 

“But Dani, it’s not. It has to be close; don’t you think?” It was a baseless claim, and Grace knew it. She was just trying to comfort Dani. 

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Dani groaned and stretched her legs out. Grace looked in the direction of the thrown book. She moved over to pick it up, thumbing through the faded color photos. The churches were beautiful, gothic, ancient looking. She admired the architecture, thinking she would love to build something so lovely. Grace backed up and sat on the edge of the table, just looking. Dani rested her hand on Grace’s back, curling her fingers into the blonde’s uniform shirt. Grace leaned into her touch. She took off her gloves and licked her thumb and forefinger on her left hand, getting traction on the pages, turning them slowly. Dani listened in the ruined silence, listening to her partner’s breathing, the crackle of paper being moved over and over. Finally, Grace made a strange noise. 

“How many spires did you say it had?” Grace asked softly, turning to yet another page. 

“Two. A big, stained-glass window in the front, like a flower or a six-pointed star.” Dani stared up into the ceiling, noting the peeled paint and water damage. If she thought about it too long, she believed the whole structure would fall down on her any minute. 

“Three doors on the front?” Grace looked at the photo in front of her. Dani rolled onto her side and curled around Grace’s hips, looking into her lap. 

“Yeah. Where is that?” The picture looked a lot like the one in Dani’s dream. The more she stared, the stronger the vibration got in her head. She reached over and pulled the book from Grace’s hand. She held it close, feeling the dark presence begin to beat within her. She heard the distant whispers of purpose and procession. She cocked her head to the side, hearing distinctly, the buzz of insects. “This is it, Grace. This is the place.” She was sure of it. 

Grace leaned back and read the caption below the photo: Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver, Colorado. She absentmindedly rubbed her naked fingers across the back of Dani’s neck, touching the scar there. Dani shivered, feeling the bug inside of her. It wasn’t really there, but it remained, an idea, a suggestion of Legion within her. Dani breathed hard, looking up at Grace. The blonde saw the dark look in her partner’s eyes. 

“What? Here?” Grace looked around at the moldy library, thinking of a million better places to fuck her girlfriend. “No way.” 

Dani was on her knees know, crawling forward, brow furrowed, starving for Grace’s touch. Grace backed away, not wanting any part of this right now. “Dani, wait. Please, let’s get home first. We’ll have time later, privacy.” Dani couldn’t hear her. Grace knew one thing, when Dani felt the machines inside of her, she needed a machine and would not stop. The terminator’s parting gift was something only Grace could give her. Grace exhaled sharply and looked around. Her crew were still outside, holding the watch. She pulled Dani off the table and took her to the back of the library, behind the last shelf of old books. The smell of mold back there was strong. It was hardly a place to have sex. 

Instantly, Dani was tearing at Grace’s pants. The blonde held her off. “No, just you.” She reached down and started unbuttoning Dani’s pants and slipped her machine hand down inside. She could only sense wetness and heat. It wasn’t very fair to Grace, not being able to experience this with her own flesh. She used her left arm to pull Dani close, letting the Commander hold on to her. Dani melted against the hand, grinding and gyrating. In that moment, Grace did not even think Dani was aware of her presence. The blonde warrior closed her eyes, letting Dani get off quick and dirty. She felt her cock throb. Her whole body ached, but not for this. She wanted Dani again, her lover, to touch her gently and cry her name. This woman in her grasp was different, connected to a hive, unable to think once it took control of her. Legion’s foothold in Dani’s mind stimulated a part of her that wanted only connection to the machines. Doing this for Dani was the only way to keep her grounded. Grace just had to ride it out with her. 

Dani rode Grace’s fingers hard and fast, stifling her cries in the warrior’s vest. She bit the bullet-proof material, feeling her teeth give under the pressure. If she’d been biting Grace’s skin, the blonde would be bleeding. She felt Grace’s fingers deep inside of her, curling, thrusting. Her pace was rhythmic, just like a machine. Dani could feel that Grace was not there, in spirit. She was providing her body only. Dani cared, but at the moment could not react to anything but her own need. It was a commingling, an amalgamation of Dani and Legion. Grace, unfortunately, was an innocent bystander more often than not. Guilt racked Dani’s mind as she came hard on Grace’s fingers. The metal thumb on her clit sent her over the edge, finally hushing the mechanical vibration in her head. Dani’s body hummed with pleasure and knowledge of things no one else could know. 

The ride back to Base 1 was quiet for Grace. She did not fly the craft of man the guns. She sat next to Dani, letting the sound of the engines lull her into a state of sleepiness. She thought of the road trip her family took to Monterrey, just before the world ended. The car ride was long and she slept most of the way, rocked to sleep by the motion of their vehicle. She wished for that same hypnosis now, but was still quite vigilant of the landscape. She held her rifle in her right hand, poised for trouble. She had her left hand in Dani’s lap, stilling the monster beneath her partner’s skin. Dani never felt good after doing that. It wasn’t sex, and it certainly wasn’t sex with Grace. It was just need. It was like something in her short circuited when she felt Legion, and only Grace could close the connection. She covered the blonde’s hand with hers, remorse and guilt eating her alive. Dani felt hot breath in her ear, lips on her lobe. “It’s ok, love,” a whisper above the deafening roar of the Dragonfly. Grace could have been screaming and Dani only just heard it. She leaned her head toward Grace, feeling the blonde’s hard skull meeting hers. 

Base 1 was absolutely electrified when Dani’s team arrived back. First Sergeant Muller and Sarah Connor were waiting for them as they touched down in the west end receiving bay. Dani stepped off the Dragonfly first, approaching her fellow leaders. 

“Commander, we’ve got big, big things going on. Let’s go.” Muller turned Dani in the direction of the command center. She looked back at Grace who nodded to her and let her go. Grace would meet her later, after debriefing with her crew and filing reports. They had two new recruits return with them, so that was something else they had to do. Herby and Shannon would find them suitable quarters, work, and a training schedule. Lucas would find them some rations. 

On the way to the command center, Dani demanded to know what was going on. 

“Legion is moving, kid, right for us. We have to shit or get off the pot,” Sarah could always be counted on for some backwoods comment about the state of affairs. 

“Where are they coming from?” Dani asked. This was one part of her dreams, the connection, that she could never see. 

“That’s what’s interesting, Commander,” Dwayne began. “They’re herding us. They aren’t attacking, just pushing us. North.” 

The three of them stepped into the small command station, looking at the screens in front of them. In red, Legion forces were marked clearly, surrounding them to the east, south, and west. Only the roads to the north were open now. “They’re getting closer every hour, Commander. They’ll be on top of us in a matter of days.” 

“I see that.” Dani whispered, admiring the cleverness of the machines. They wanted to push the Resistance forward to their own fate. It could be victory for humanity, or it could be their demise. Dani pulled out the road atlas from the front desk. She opened it to show northern Texas and southern Colorado. It was a long journey to Denver. She knew immediately that’s where they were going. 

“I want comms established with NORAD again. I know we haven’t heard from them in six months, but try. Get word to them. Find out what’s left up there.” The Commander ordered. 

“In Colorado?” Sarah asked, pulling the map closer to her. She ran a gnarled finger over the main roads leading to the city in question. “Why there?” 

“It was the last known group of actual military forces, for one thing.” First Sergeant Muller had always spoken about the air force base near Denver, NORAD, the field hospital at Fitzsimons. He had once made a comment that they’d all be better off up there anyway, since the city was shielded by mountains. There was also a vast shale oil reserve worth defending up there. “NORAD used to be the aerospace command center, but now, they just watch Legion. If we can get Dani up there, she can command every force in the area. That is, if there’s still an army up there.” 

“If. That’s a pretty big if, Sarge.” Sarah said, staring at the screens again. “Especially since we haven’t heard anything for that long.” 

“If Legion is pushing us forward, we will need whatever is left in Colorado. Most of the military outposts are actually in Colorado Springs, an hour from Denver. That,” Dani jammed her finger onto the map, “is where we need to go.” 

“We really don’t have the transportation to get everyone there all at once, Dani.” Sarah was right. Moving a couple thousand people that far, that fast, would be impossible. 

“We do it anyway. We start now. Muller, you’re logistics. Make it happen. Sarah, get a message to NORAD. I want every piece of intel between here and Denver.” Dani stood, stoic, watching the machines march on the place she called home. She’d counter them after the long run, striking Legion in its very, blackened heart. 

Legion was smart, Dani knew. Why would they be leading her right to their core? Unless they did not know she was watching. If that was the case, Dani would drop a bomb right on top of that church, crippling and devastating the machines for good. Part of her felt like it was a trap, but there were no other solutions right now. Something inside, the machines, told her there was so much more than just the hive. There was a purpose to everything the artificial intelligence did. Dani Ramos used to believe that humans could destroy the thing that they had built. She wasn’t so sure she believed it anymore. All she knew for certain, is that she wanted Legion out of her head for good, and she’d stop at nothing to make that happen. 

Dani left the command in capable hands, and left to go find Grace. She owed the young blonde an apology. She would let Grace exact it any way she liked. That was another thing that changed. After her all-encompassing sexual needs brought on by the machine connection, Dani’s heart and soul were left gaping; desperate for Grace to fill the void again.


	24. Lion Tamer

Grace watched Dani leave the command center. She sat with Herby and Shannon in the common area, sunk down in a chair with her cap over her hair. She did not want to be seen right now by the Commander. Instead, Grace wanted to talk to Sarah and First Sergeant Muller alone. Her concern for Dani was growing by the hour. The connection to Legion seemed to be growing stronger. 

Grace moved quickly once Dani disappeared down the tunnel headed home. She told Herby and Shannon to wait, that she’d be back to talk to them. Muller and Sarah were engaged in some deep conversation when Grace stepped up. 

“We need to talk about Dani.” Grace interrupted them, and discovered they were talking about the same thing in an offhanded way. 

“Yeah, we do. Grace, what’s going on with her? It’s like she’s somewhere else. Are you two okay?” Sarah asked. Dwayne looked around at the prying eyes of the command center. 

“My office, please.” He ushered both women down the hall to the Logistics office where he had spent the better part of a year. The inside of the office was a disaster. Dwayne had papers everywhere. For someone in charge of moving large armies, supplies, and equipment, his office was not organized at all. 

“Did the cleaners miss a day? Or a month?” Grace looked around at how scattered everything was. 

“Enough, Sergeant. Logistics was never my thing. I’m doing this for Dani.” Dwayne began to move papers out of the seats by his desk. He piled everything on top of a filing cabinet in the corner. “I’ve got to figure out how to move the 1000 plus people from this base to Denver with only three trucks, four Dragonflies, and a tank. I don’t have time to straighten up.” 

“I got it. Sorry, First Sergeant.” Grace sat quietly next to Sarah. “Things with Dani are hard right now. I don’t even want to talk about that though. But she’s got some sort of strange connection to the machines. Every time she gets close to something she calls “the hive”, she freaks out. Like she can feel them or something.” Grace felt like she’d already said too much. 

“She told me something similar,” Sarah added. “She’s been having weird memories of things and places she’s never experienced.” 

Dwayne Muller leaned on his desk toward the two women. “So, what are we talking about here? I mean, her mind was completely fucked up by a Legion probe. It’s to be expected.” 

“Yes, but this is the Commander of the Resistance we’re talking about. If anyone needs to hold it together, it’s her.” Sarah was only saying what Grace was thinking. 

“I’m worried about her.” The blonde warrior fidgeted, chewing her thumb. 

“Do you think she’ll lead us astray?” Muller looked right at Grace for an answer. 

“Not intentionally. But I think whatever is in her mind is leading her somewhere. There’s a church, in Denver. She thinks the hive is there.” Grace said around her thumb. She was working a sore spot on it these days. Her anxiety was through the roof. She did not want to tell either Dwayne or Sarah about her torrid sex life. Grace pulled out the photo of the basilica. She had ripped it from the book in Laredo. She unfolded it and handed it to Sarah. 

“She thinks the hive, or whatever, is here?” Sarah smoothed the page out on the edge of Muller’s desk. 

“Yeah, and when she saw the photo, just the photo-” Grace sighed, loath to say more about their tryst in the back of the library. 

“Grace, I need to know everything. I’m sorry, I know you’re a private person with Dani, but if we’re going to help her, or the human race, I need to know what we’re dealing with.” 

“He’s right.” Sarah punctuated Dwayne’s statement. Neither of them were looking for juicy details, just facts that they could compile to use against Legion. 

“She goes berserk. She told me that she can feel the vibration from the hive. It’s all one mind. There’s something, she doesn’t even know what, in that church.” Grace pointed to the paper as Sarah passed it to Muller. Grace breathed deeply, lowered her voice to a near whisper. She’d never spoken of her private life with Dani before, to anyone. “When she feels it, she gets all crazy. Like really rough sex crazy. She has to have contact.” Grace raised her right hand up and wiggled her fingers. 

Dwayne nodded, understanding what she was saying. Sarah needed a little more. “Contact? With a machine?” Grace put her hand down, nodding. She felt the flush of embarrassment rise up into her cheeks. Sarah looked at Dwayne, “I didn’t see that coming. But what gives?” Sarah turned to Grace again. “Your arm is not Legion tech.” 

“Apparently it does not matter. She won’t calm down until she’s, had me, for lack of a better term.” Grace sighed heavily, hating that she’d given up something so private. She knew these two would not betray her trust. She swallowed hard, trying not to be ashamed of herself. 

“Ok, well from now on, Dani sticks with you, like glue. I don’t want her to go off when you’re not around, Grace. I hate to put that on you, but if something happens, and you’re not there to... provide, as it were... gods only know what she’ll do. She might lead us right to the machines without thinking.” Sarah could have used the opportunity to jab at Grace, but this was too important to joke about. 

“How do we disconnect her from Legion? Can we do that? Will this go away on its own?” Muller felt out of his depth. None of them had ever experienced this before. Terminators were built to kill, not extract information. 

“As far as she can tell,” Grace started. She withdrew her thumb from between her teeth and sat on her hand. “Legion doesn’t know what she can see and hear. But she doesn’t know for sure.” 

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” All three heads turned to the slightly open office door. Dani, looking completely disheveled, slipped inside and shut it behind her. “Sorry, everyone. I’m a mess.” 

Grace stood and offered Dani her seat. The Commander took the offer, sitting heavily, the weight of the world clearly strapped to her back. “I’ll tell you what I know.” Dani began to recount the first of many dreams she’d been having. The machines marching on the base could only be the forces currently pushing them north. She talked about the vibrations, the sexual desires, much to Grace’s dismay, and how she couldn’t think of anything else but the hive. Dani was concerned that whatever was in her head was impeding her ability to effectively lead the Resistance. 

“Well, Dani, if that’s the case,” Muller straightened up, pushing a stack of papers to the far corner of his desk. “I’m going to have to relieve you of your command, at least for now. I mean, I know that conventional military rules don’t apply anymore. So, I’m asking you to please step down and let Sarah and I handle things until we get to Colorado and set up operations there.” 

Dani exhaled loudly. First, when Robert Bakas tried to usurp her position by nearly killing her and Grace both, Dani vowed to never give up her role again. Then, when Grace almost died, Dani was gone a lot, but still would not relent. Now, however, her mind was compromised by the very enemy they were fighting. She knew she had to give it up. She nodded, as much to herself as to Dwayne and Sarah, even Grace. “Okay. I step down.” She looked up at all three of them. Dani caught everyone’s eyes. The looks were all the same. This wasn’t a power play. They were very concerned about her well-being. 

“We will keep you in the loop, Dani. This is still your outfit. Nothing goes by without you knowing. We’ll need your advice, your insight into the hive or whatever it is. You still have to participate.” Dwayne Muller had a way about him that invited people to respect and love him. Dani would follow him anywhere. He wasn’t dismissing her. He was just resetting her decision-making abilities to a lower level. He was taking pressure off of her while still needing her around. Dani was grateful for this man with the kindest, strongest soul she’d known since meeting Grace. 

The knock on the door was soft. The person on the other side did not wait for permission to enter. The door opened slowly and a head of dark brown hair peeked in. Grace saw the braid before the face. Jane Doyle was looking for Dwayne. “Hey, um, I’m sorry to interrupt. I need to see you, Top.” Dwayne stood and met Jane at the door. He leaned out just a little, not letting her come in. Sarah looked at Dani and mouthed the word “top”, smiling from ear to ear. There was going to be a joke about this later, Grace could feel it. 

Grace heard the soft sound of a kiss just behind the door and a whisper, “I’ll meet you later.” Dwayne moved back into the office, shut the door and sat back down. His cheeks were pink. He looked like his temperature had risen a few degrees. Ooooh, Grace swooned a little, Dwayne had it bad for Jane. She struggled not to smile at the First Sergent. Instead, she resumed biting her thumb. 

“Okay, everyone. We’ve got a shit ton of work to do. We have to figure out how to move everyone between four posts to Colorado. We have to start now. 

The four of them put their heads together and decided who moved first, how many at a time, and in what transports. The other bases had fewer people than Base 1, and all had more transports, so it would just be a matter of moving things around. Sarah had not yet received communications from NORAD, and did not expect anything. The bottom line was that the base would be abandoned. Everyone in the science division who wanted to come north could do so. Anyone else could stay behind or go back to UCLA. In the meantime, Sarah got on the radio and called UCLA to let them know everything that was happening, right down to the potential of a hive in Denver. Any help they could provide, as eggheads, Sarah said, would be happily accepted at this time. 

Later that night, Dani and Grace were walking back to their room. Grace held Dani’s hand in her left, happy for the skin contact. Dani was lost in the past tonight. She remembered the augmented soldier who came to her aid so many years ago. Dani started thinking of the medications that Grace had to take back then to reset her metabolism. She was trying hard to remember the list of things Grace had needed and what each did. The blonde warrior had told her once, but it was years ago. She thought she had said something about one of the chemicals acting as a blocker. Having Legion tech inside your body made you an automatic target for the machines. She hated having to go tell anyone this story, just to maybe find some relief from her connection. Plus, with Grace now stuck to her like underwear, it would be impossible to say anything without her knowing. 

“Grace, wait.” Dani pulled the young woman to a full stop in the middle of the tunnel. Grace looked down at her, concerned. 

“What is it?” She squeezed Dani’s hand, letting her know that whatever it was, they’d handle it together. 

“I have to tell you something. Come with me, amor.” Dani turned them around and headed to the infirmary. Grace did not question her. Dani usually always had a plan or a reason for everything she did. 

They passed Sarah on their way. The older woman was looking over the ongoing chess match. “I’ve got you now, blondie!” She yelled as the two walked by. Grace nodded to her, but did not smile or say anything. Sarah stiffened and followed them. If something was wrong, she needed to know what it was. 

As Dani and Grace entered the infirmary, Dani called out for Jane Doyle. The medic appeared from behind the counter where she’d been crouched. She was rerouting her computer to a new printer. She stood up and invited them into the office. Sarah stood in the doorway, making sure no one was listening. “Sorry, Dani, but it’s need-to-know. And I need to know.” She crossed her arms over her chest, standing guard protectively. Dani had seen that look before. She trusted Sarah with her life. Dani began to tell Jane about the past, the augmentation process, the medications, Grace. Sarah corroborated the story, telling her part in all of it. Grace stared at the two in complete disbelief. She had been completely thrown around every corner lately. 

“Are you fucking with me?” Grace sounded a little pissed off if this was a joke at her expense. 

“No, my love. It’s the truth.” Dani did not have anything else to offer her. She probably should have kept the augment’s name anonymous, but Grace had a right to know. The blonde was confused by the idea of time travel more so than augmentation. As far as enhancements, Grace was already part of the way there. She clenched her right hand before releasing and running her fingers through her hair. It was all too much. 

“Jane, I can only remember some of the medications she had to take. Is there any way you can tell me if they have a blocking effect?” 

“Try me.” Doyle produced a physician’s reference book from a desk drawer. As Dani went over the known drugs, Jane looked them up. She took time to write down the side effects, purposes, and interactions. So far, it was a bust. “However, if what you’re telling me is true, we have something else that might work. Have you ever tried an antipsychotic medication before? It might not work, but it might be the best shot we have at shutting down the extra shit in your mind a little bit.” 

“If you’ll excuse me, ladies. I have to go see a woman about a few things.” Sarah turned without further explanation and left them. 

Dani turned back to Jane. “I guess I’ll try it. I don’t know if it will work, but I’ll try it.” 

“I’ll give you something to help you sleep too.” Jane stood and started looking though the large medicine cabinet on the far wall. She pulled out two small bottles and handed them to Dani. She wrote out instructions for each. “Let me know immediately if this doesn’t work. I’m being assigned to your detail anyway. So as the base moves, I’ll be by your side, Commander.” 

Dani held the bottles in her hand. “Thank you, Jane. I’m grateful to you.” 

“Just don’t lead us into the lion’s den.” Jane laughed, nervously. It wasn’t meant to be a joke, but it wasn’t entirely serious. 

“Bring a whip and a chair,” Dani added as she stood to leave. Too much of the truth had come out today for Dani and Grace. They needed some calm in the storm. Dani resumed holding Grace’s hand on the way back down to their room. 

When they were just a few feet from their door, Grace scooped Dani up into her arms. The brunette wrapped her arms around the blonde’s shoulders. Grace gave her the biggest, bravest smile she could muster and carried her into the room. She kicked the door closed behind her and walked Dani to their bed. She laid the woman down gently and bent to take off the Commander’s boots. Grace loved Dani so deeply, that despite her own heartache and grief, she still did little things like this for her. 

Dani laid back and watched her partner unlace her boots one at a time. She was struck by the gentle care Grace took with her. “I want to apologize to you.” Dani said, setting the pill bottles on the bedside table. 

“For what?” Grace did not even look up. She pulled the boots off, careful of Dani’s healing ankle. 

“For the library. I’m sorry about what I do to you.” Dani felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She felt terrible for everything she was putting Grace through. 

“Dani, you don’t owe me an apology. You can’t help it.” Grace straightened up, both Dani’s and her boots in her hands, making eye contact with her partner. Dani could see that Grace meant what she said. Her heart broke a little bit right then, realizing that this young warrior was capable of so much love and compassion. Dani sobbed softly, covering her face with her hands. Grace huffed and put their boots by the door. She stripped off her uniform shirt and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Sit up, baby.” Grace pulled Dani up and began to help her out of the overlayers of clothing she was always wearing. Dani had a black t-shirt under her uniform. Grace carefully unbraided Dani’s hair and retrieved her brush from the bathroom. She moved back to sit behind Dani, letting the brunette lean back between long, thin legs. Dani laid her hands on Grace’s knees as the blonde slowly brushed her hair out. Grace had never done this before, but it felt so good. Dani could not believe it was something new between them. 

As Grace finished up and laid the brush down, Dani relaxed against the warrior’s body. She was so thankful to be home. She reached for the pills and instructions. She read carefully, and prepared a dose. Grace slipped away for a moment to get Dani a glass of water, and slid back behind her without a word. Dani loved this woman with everything she was. She bit back more tears, knowing that the feelings were mutual, knowing Grace would never leave her empty. Dani took the medication and finally let herself completely relax against Grace’s body. She reached beside her and held Grace’s hands in hers, pulling her young lover’s arms up and around her like a soft blanket. 

“What do you want tonight, amada?” Dani whispered, leaning her head back to nuzzle Grace’s neck. 

“What do you mean?” Grace brought her left hand up to caress Dani’s cheek, feeling the brunette’s hot lips on her skin. 

“I’ll give you whatever you want tonight, no holds barred. You’ve been so patient and giving when I’ve needed you. I’ve been ruthless and unfair to you.” Dani gently bit Grace’s neck, bringing her hand up to cup the blonde’s chin. 

Grace dropped her hand to Dani’s waist. “Jesus, Dani, do you think this is a game, and we’re keeping score?” 

Dani twisted around in Grace’s arms. The look on the blonde’s face was confused and a little angry. “No. Not at all. I just don’t want you to feel like it’s never about you. Because it is, Grace. It’s very much about you.” 

“Dani, I don’t need anything from you, other than for you to relax and rest right now. You’ve been through so fucking much without so much as a piss break! Please, just don’t think about that right now. Getting worked up isn’t going to help. I don’t want you to trigger another wave of whatever the fuck the machines do to you.” 

Dani leaned on her elbow, looking up at her lover. Grace had never turned down sex, but Dani suddenly understood why. Grace was right. The last week had been so rough and chaotic, Dani did not know what was happening anymore. She let herself fall against Grace’s chest, letting her partner hold her, console her. Dani closed her eyes and focused on the blonde warrior’s breathing and heartbeat. Grace steadied herself all for Dani’s comfort. She pulled the blankets up over them and let her lover fall asleep finally.


	25. The Abandoned

The exodus from Base 1 was hurried. Everyone was directed to only bring what they could carry. The post-apocalyptic world had not afforded everyone the opportunity to collect possessions. Mostly, people only ever had what they could hold in a backpack. So much of people’s lives was spent running. Grace Harper was no exception to the rule. Her few worldly possessions included the chess set that Dani gave her. She treasured it. Wrapped in a towel, each piece carefully protected by cloth, Grace packed the small board into her pack. She had a small stack of baseball cards that she managed to hold on to over the years. She also had a silver necklace that her mother gave her when they were in Monterrey. She wasn’t sure how she was able to keep it for so long. It was so delicate and small. The chain was thin, and Grace was afraid she’d break it every time she touched it with clumsy fingers. The pendant was a little bear. She kept it in a plastic bag in the side pocket of her back pack. Grace’s few things were all she had in the world, aside from weapons and armor. 

Dani packed some extra clothes for both of them, always taking care of Grace. She knew the blonde did not take care of herself if she wasn’t around. Dani never said anything about it, though. She just made room for Grace in her life. She packed up a couple of books that she loved, her father’s class ring, and her medications. They took one last look around the room together and quietly left Base 1. 

Sarah had spent most of the last few days down in the science division with a friend of hers, going over what would need to come to Denver with them. Dani and Grace had already left as Sarah hobbled through the physics lab, helping Anne Morris pack boxes and trunks. 

“You know, some of this shit can stay behind.” Sarah complained as she quickly packed up equipment. 

“It can’t, really. You know that none of this can fall into Legion’s hands.” Anne bent over a trunk, working the lock shut. Sarah stared at the brown-haired beauty, noting how she would have been beautiful at any age. Anne’s ponytail flopped down over a shoulder, and Sarah could almost smell the scientist’s hair from across the room. She sighed and moved to the next set of boxes, directing a tech to take them to one of the remaining trucks. Sarah suddenly wished most of the cargo trucks from UCLA had stayed there. Everything was going to be a tight fit. 

Once the techs began taking things out for transport, Sarah caught Anne by the arm. “I need to talk to you.” She pulled the scientist over to the desk and sat her down. “We need to talk about Dani Ramos.” 

“Again?” Anne answered, feeling a little more than tired of the whole saga. 

“Look, darlin’, you know how this ends. I know you did everything in your power to stop it, but here we are, again. And now, Dani has something in her head. Legion.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Anne looked up at Sarah, running her fingertips across the older warrior’s knee. Sarah did not ask how Anne knew anything anymore. The aging scientist had her ways. Anne Morris had been more than a few places in her life. Sarah reached down and held the hand on her knee. 

“How do we help her? Can we kill the connection? And there’s the whole time travel problem.” Sarah remembered so many nights with Anne, going over and over the complexities of time displacement. It was all theory back then, until the day Anne disappeared. Sarah never asked where she went, but knew it was more a matter of when she went. “There’s another TDC, but no one knows where.” 

“This is the problem, Sarah, the location is muddy because it might not exist yet. Dani’s connection to Legion is probably what will lead us to it, or prompt the building of it.” Anne breathed hard and leaned against Sarah for one last moment of comfort before the road ahead got really hard. Sarah ran her fingers down the back of Anne’s neck, thinking of any other way they could beat the machines. It always came down to time travel, according to the scientist next to her. “Getting the machines out of Dani’s head will only serve to prolong the war. I’ve counted exactly three times humanity wins without sending a soldier back.” 

“Out of how many?” Sarah tightened the straps on her bullet-proof vest and stiffened up. She was ready to move out now. 

“I can’t count. None of us can.” Anne stood up with her. The look in the scientist’s eyes was deep and sad. The count was continuous, infinite. Sarah understood that their actions right in that moment were creating more splinters than could be quantified. Anne leaned in and gently kissed Sarah, touching her cheek. If we only had more time, Sarah mused to herself. She broke free of her once and beautiful lover, regarded the two techs in the doorway, and ordered the removal of the final boxes. 

“We only have this one life, my sweet,” Anne whispered, taking Sarah by the hand, leading her out of the lab. A young technician stopped them in the tunnel, asking Anne if everyone was out. Sarah assured him that they should be the last ones at Base 1. Anne nodded to the tech, who was on his way to kill the power. 

Sarah Connor stood with Anne Morris in the loading bay of the west tunnel, watching the last few trucks roll out. The Dragonfly provided to the physics lab was ready to take flight. There was a loud crack and the lights went out. The roar of the engines was all that could be heard then. Anne helped Sarah to board the transport in the failing daylight. They left Base 1 behind for good. 

As Grace guided the Dragonfly low over the landscape, she glanced over at her sleeping partner in the cockpit. Dani’s head was leaned against the far wall. Grace knew it was the new medications that were causing the Commander to sleep more than usual. The blonde warrior thought it was a godsend to them both. Grace had an easier time watching Dani, and Dani did not have to go through constant hell with terminators fighting in her mind. Grace switched on the hover feature that worked alongside the autopilot. The craft detected the distance to the ground, was mindful of landscape features. The Dragonfly was brilliant when its own mind was allowed to work without human interference. Grace leaned back in her seat, pulled her headset on and started adressing the gunner. 

“Anything?” 

“No, Sergeant.” The kid’s voice was loud in her ears. Lucas Shay was a ruddy, bold soldier. He was always baying for Legion’s blood, as it were. He could be counted on to remain vigilant for the next several hours. 

“Keep your eyes peeled, Luke. We don’t need any trouble. Our cargo is precious,” Grace said softly, looking over at her unconscious partner. She reached a hand out and touched Dani’s shoulder, keeping the brunette from rocking too hard against the sway of the aircraft. Dani was strapped in firmly. Grace knew she wasn’t going to slide away, and probably just wanted to touch her in the first place. 

Grace glanced over her shoulder at the multitude of souls hunkered in the aircraft. The Dragonfly seated 25, not including the gunner or the pilots. There were easily forty people that Grace was transporting today. Bodies huddled together for warmth. She noted that some slept, some looked out across the land, and a few looked up at her. She gave those people a solid thumbs-up and returned to her instrument panel. First Sergeant Muller’s voice came over the headset, loud and clear. 

“Harper, what’s our ETA?” 

“About 4 more hours, Top.” Grace had started calling him that. The brevity of the nickname made talking to Muller easier when Grace did not have to use his full title. 

“How’s the Commander?” Dwayne asked. Grace paused to regard her sleeping partner again. 

“Resting.” Her voice was gentle over the speaker. 

“How are you?” Muller was never one to leave anyone out. 

“Eager to get there, Top.” Flying long distances, though soothing to the blonde warrior, was dangerous. The longer a team was out in the open, the greater the chances that Legion would find them and send them packing. “How’s everyone back there? Anyone throw up yet?” Grace heard Muller laugh quietly. 

“Negative, Sergeant. All meals are intact.” 

“Roger. If you look out port side, you’ll note that we’re still flying over precisely nothing.” The joke landed with Muller. He laughed again, seeing the flat plains of Northern Texas. Not even a single mountain or hill in sight. 

“Copy that, Harper. Good work.” Muller signed off and leaned back against the wall of the transport. He closed his eyes and tried to make himself go to sleep. The chief medic stretched out beside him and wrapped her arms around his body. He welcomed Jane Doyle to lay against him. He softly kissed the top of her head, tasting the oil of her scalp. 

Dani woke up right as the sun was starting to set. Her eyes felt heavy. Jane Doyle had dosed her pretty heavily for the flight to Colorado. Even if the medications were not working as they had hoped, dampening her connection to Legion, they were not taking any chances. Dani opened her eyes, seeing the light purple glow of the sky to the west of her. She looked ahead and pulled her arms over her head, stretching. Her back arched and she felt the comforting hand that always found her lower back in this moment. Grace was wearing her headset and tapped the earpiece to signal Dani to slip hers on. The Commander donned her headset and listened. 

“How do you feel?” Grace returned her gaze to the front. Her hand still on the small of Dani’s back. 

“Okay. Tired. Groggy. I’m hungry.” Dani said, her voice rough and gravelly. Grace handed her a canteen full of water. The brunette unscrewed the cap and drank greedily. She’d actually been thirstier than she thought. The side effects of the meds were hunger and thirst. Grace leaned between them and opened a bag. She pulled out a sleeve of crackers and some cheese spread, handing them to her partner. 

“Sorry, the in-flight meals suck. We ran out of tv dinners while you were sleeping.” Grace joked. She looked over at Dani and smiled, watching the weary woman shake her head in response. Dani took the rations and ate in silence. She positioned the mouthpiece of the headset up away from her lips so that Grace did not have to listen to her chewing. She watched the land fly by. There was not much to look at, just a sea of grass on an otherwise flat plain. It was getting dark. This was the worst time to be traveling. The light emitted from the Dragonfly engines would be enough to draw Legion to them. They still had three hours left to go. 

“How’s your head, Dani?” Grace was watching her now. Dani tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes. To Grace, it looked like Dani was listening for something no one else could hear. 

“Quiet. Should we stop for the night? I’m sure everyone could use a rest.” 

“Honestly, the quicker we get there, the better off we’ll all be. I know I have to piss like no other, but I'm sure everyone else does too. We just need to get there fast.” Grace reached across the aisle and held Dani’s hand, squeezing gently with her left. Dani looked back at the passenger area. She looked at Grace and opened her mouth to speak. 

“Go ahead, baby. Private channel.” Grace reassured Dani they weren’t being listened to. 

“I love you,” was all Dani Ramos said into the headset. Grace heard it as if Dani had whispered it into her ear while they were in bed. 

“I love you too, Dani. We’ll be there soon. Try and get some more rest.” 

The Dragonfly felt like it had hit severe turbulence, but there was no way. All the readouts said that the weather was perfect. The featureless landscape was not the cause of the craft rocking violently. An alarm on the instrument panel began to blare followed by a red flashing light. Grace checked her mental list of possibilities, from a blown fuse to a false alarm. According to the panel, an engine was out. She rerouted the power to the remaining three, and allowed the Dragonfly to correct itself. 

Dwayne Muller appeared between Grace and Dani. “What the fuck?” He asked, kind of yelling into the headset. 

“Engine 3 went out.” Grace managed to level the aircraft. “Tell everyone to hang on.” Dwayne relayed the information to Lucas and Herby, who helped the passengers get straightened out. 

“Why did the engine go out?” The words were not even out of his mouth before the craft rocked violently again. The instrument panel lit up all over again. Grace fumbled through routine checks, but nothing was responding. 

“Fuck!” She screamed, turning to look behind her. The rear of the craft was billowing black smoke. She could see flames licking out from under the belly of the beast. “Hold on! We’re going down!” 

Grace tried to guide the unresponsive craft to the ground safely, but it was out of her hands. She had no control over it. They were going to crash at a very high speed. At least they weren’t terribly far off the ground. As the earth rose up to meet them, Grace screamed again, “BRACE FOR IMPACT!” Everyone on board grabbed something to hold on to, including each other. Seconds before the Dragonfly hit the ground, Grace looked at Dani, seeing the terror in her partner’s eyes. The sound of metal twisting against stone was overpowering to Dani’s senses. She closed her eyes and felt the jolt of the impact rush right through her. She listened to passengers yell and scream. This was not going to be good.


End file.
